


Running Fearless

by D3anwash3r3



Series: Running [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Best Friends, F/M, Fake Character Death, Faked Death, Fantasy, Friendship/Love, Hydra (Marvel), Jealousy, Marvel Universe, Multiple MCU Movies, Mystery, Parent Death, Romance, Spies & Secret Agents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:54:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 44
Words: 326,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23857180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/D3anwash3r3/pseuds/D3anwash3r3
Summary: Sequel to Running Scared -  Katie was tired of running away from her problems and realized if she was ever going to find out what SHIELD was hiding, then she was going to have to face them head on. What she discovers will shake the lives of everyone. SHIELD has been compromised, and so a team of superheroes plus a damaged lab tech will have to decide if a rescue is even worth it.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Original Female Character(s), Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Original Female Character(s)
Series: Running [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1699690
Comments: 10
Kudos: 13
Collections: A Nod to the Original Characters, Oc Centric Fics





	1. Chapter 1

Do you ever just sit and reflect on your life? Just sit in front of a television or computer monitor and only pay attention to the images in your head. Katie sat at a small table of the small bistro listening to the distant sounds of an accordion playing. She looked up to the sight of the Eiffel Tower. Paris, France, the city of love. And here she was searching for a physicist she believed may be connected to SHIELD and Project Insight.

Running was now apart of her life. It was a necessity, because not running meant being caught and that wasn't an option.

Katie sat in front of her laptop not paying attention to the images on the screen. Instead she thought about the last year and a half of her life and how she hadn't seen or spoken to any of her friends or family. It was something else taken from her. She wanted to place all the blame on SHIELD, but in the end it was her choice.

Her eyes had witnessed so much. From aliens calling themselves gods, to a billionaire scientist who started as her biggest annoyance to becoming her best friend. She had admitted her feelings for Clint, the man she probably loved since the day he interrupted her lunch, and had to stand strong the day she watched him walk away from her. There were times she wondered how it is she was still standing. There were moments when she came back to that moment, standing there and listening to Clint tell her that he loved her, but not that he was going to leave with her, not that he believed her... it was what he didn't say that hurt the most.

Katie was snapped out of her thoughts by a beeping from her laptop. She dropped her eyes to the screen and tilted her head as she read.

"Why did your name show up on SHIELD's must have list for this project Dr. Heisenberg?" Katie muttered as she looked to the information that appeared. It was a tracking software she enabled to detect the doctors credit card activity. "Sofitel Paris Le Faubourg" she read the hotel's name before closing her laptop and sliding it into her bag. "Well it would be rude of me not to say hi." Katie stood to her feet tossing a couple of bills to the table before walking along the side walk. Her fingers went to pulling the baseball cap over her head to cover her eyes. For the past year and a half most of Katie's days were spent looking over her shoulder. She wasn't naive. She pissed off a lot of people and they weren't just going to let her go.

A piece of paper blowing in the wind hit her ankle and she stopped picking it up. It was a flyer for Resillience. One of the biggest science conventions in the world. The place would be filled with some of the most brilliant minds from across the globe, which is why finding Dr. Heisenberg wasn't that difficult.

The walk to Le Faubourg wasn't too far, and it gave Katie time to come up with an effective plan for entry. She knew it wouldn't be easy. Especially if this guy was working with SHIELD, then there probably were a couple of agents somewhere near. She was going to have to do what she did best, and that was keep her head down. Katie stepped through the front door, her eyes going to the front desk. She spotted the computers and knew if she was going to locate Heisenberg then she needed to be on the other side of that desk. She let her eyes scan over the hotel's lobby. It was obvious that there was some kind of event happening from the amount of people moving about. Katie decided to try her luck with a good ole fashion lie. She walked over to the front desk and waited in line until it was her turned to be served.

"Bonjour madame, comment puis-je vous aider." the clerk said his accent thick as he asked how he could help her. Katie noted the man's smile not quite making it to his eyes. He was exhausted and it showed.

"Uh, Bonjour," Katie greeted hoping her French was too rusty. "Je suis ici sur le travail." She assumed during this busy time, the hotel would be looking for extra help and hoped some lie about being sent by an agency would be believable. The clerk looked at her confused for a moment before letting out a sigh of relief.

"Zee, agency sent you?" he asked and Katie simply nodded with a wide smile. "Dieu merci, this place is a mad house and we desperately needed some extra help, but I assumed there would be more of you."

"As you can imagine, this is a pretty busy time for the agency as well." Katie said slightly shrugging. "We're being outsourced to so many places, its crazy. You're lucky to have gotten me."

"Oui, Oui." the clerk said with a nod before looking over to the clerk beside him. "Anton, aller chercher mademoiselle—" his brow furrowed before turning back to Katie. "I’m so sorry, I didn't get your name."

"Uh, Kitty." Katie said with a nod. "Kitty Fline."

"Strange name." he said before turning back to the clerk. "Get mademoiselle Fline set up and let her follow Cheri à l'étage d'or."

"The Gold Floor?" Katie thought as she tried to keep up with what he was saying. He turned back to her and she quickly plastered on another smile.

"Anton will get you set up with a uniform and you will train with l'un des meilleurs sur servantes." the clerk said and Katie didn't know what to expect from this best maid in the place, but it was her in and she was going to take it.

Katie simply nodded before following Anton. She looked back to the computer behind the desk.

"New plan." Katie thought as she turned to follow the young man. He didn't say much as they walked down the halls of the staff quarters. Katie's eyes scanned the area mostly out of habit. Another one of her father's rules that she couldn't let go, even if she wanted to. Anton suddenly stopped unexpectedly, causing Katie to run right into his back.

"Sorry, I mean Je suis désolé." Katie said with a slight nod. The man looked annoyed but turned to the older woman that stood before them. Katie looked over to the woman whose stood straight, her head held high as she looked over Katie as if examining her. The woman's blonde hair was pulled into a tight bun on top of her head.

"Remove the hat." The woman said her gravely French accent almost made Katie shutter. Katie let out a sigh before reaching up and removing the baseball cap. She ran a hand over her now pixie hair cut that she was still getting used to, before bringing her eyes back to the woman. "Hmph," she said as she began circling Katie like a vulture. Before Katie knew what was happening the woman was shoving a uniform into her chest. "Put it on, rapidement."

"Oui madam." Katie said before going to change into the uniform.

Katie stood looking at herself in the outfit thanking whoever was listening that she didn't have to wear what she usually thought of when she thought of a French maid's uniform. She straightened the bonnet on her head and almost jumped at the rapping at the door.

"First rule, move quickly and with purpose!" Cheri called from the other side of the door.

"Great, more rules." Katie muttered before stuffing her bag and clothes into one of the vacant locker before going on to see the woman who looked as if most of her life was spent sucking on sour grapes.

"Venir." the woman ordered for Katie to come along, before walking away. Katie tried her best to keep in step with the woman who even though she was walking, was moving at an impressive speed. Cheri was talking, probably informing Katie of the do's and don't of Faubourg, but Katie barely listened as she let her eyes scan over the halls hoping for a glance to the doctor. "seigneur, are you even listening?" Katie's attention came back to the woman and she simply nodded.

"Oui." Katie said with a small smile. Cheri rolled her eyes before continuing down the hall muttering something in French Katie knew wasn't a compliment.

"We are responsible for the l'étage d'or." Cheri said casting a sideways glance to Katie. "We don't get many guests to this floor at one time, which is good. Meaning we can give the guests we do have as much attention as they need." They stopped in front of a door that seemed to be the only door around the entire floor. "Each guest gets their own wing for privacy concerns." Cheri raised a hand and knocked on the door. "Ménagère!"

"One second!" a voice called from the other side. Katie shook her head in annoyance. She really needed to get back to finding Dr. Heisenberg and not playing the french maid. She looked to Cheri's back and decided to take her chances and slip away. The door swung open and appeared a beautiful woman with cherry blonde hair. "Oh, hello."

"Bon jour, madame. I am Cheri and I shall service you for your stay." Cheri said with a slight curtsey.

"Oh, ok," the woman said holding out a hand for a shake. "I'm Virginia Potts, but everyone calls me Pepper." Cheri looked to the woman's hand a bit hesitant, but shook it anyway. "Please come in." Cheri nodded before looking over her shoulder, surprised that there was no one there. "Tony!" Cheri turned and walked inside just as a man she instantly recognized appeared. "Tony, meet Cheri, she's going to be our personal housekeeper while we're here." Tony looked the woman up and down before walking out of the room. "Sorry, he's not really a people person."

"It is quite alright," Cheri said. "My personal number is programmed into the room's phone, so if there is anything you need, just give me a call."

"I sure will, thank you." Pepper said with a smile. Cheri gave another slight curtsey before turning and leaving. Pepper turned and headed into the bedroom where she found Tony lying on the bed next to Matthew. "You were rude."

"I was me." Tony said looking over to Matthew whose eyes were focused on his tablet.

"Why is he in our bed?" Pepper sighed looking over to Matthew who glanced over his tablet to her. Since Matthew came into their lives it was as if he'd been there forever, comfortably making a place for himself. That place seemed to be annoying little brother.

"Apparently looking for French single women." Tony said glancing at the tablet before Matthew pulled it away and stood to his feet.

"Bite me Tony," Matthew said before turning to Pepper. "I don't have to go to this convention or whatever do I?"

"Well seeing as you're my new personal assistant, I would say yes." Tony said and Matthew glanced over to him.

"Stop calling me that. Just because I get you coffee and pick up your dry cleaning and—" Matthew just shook his head and sighed. "I'm not helping my argument." he turned back to Pepper.

"Tony's right. if you want to be paid, you actually have to work." Pepper said with a shrug before looking over to Tony. "I have a meeting with the CEO of Cyberteck. I want to plant the seed of a merger. Can I count on you two to behave yourselves?"

"We're grown men Pep, of course we can behave ourselves." Tony says standing to his feet and walking over to his girlfriend and placing his hands on her waist. "Don't you trust me?"

"Not as far as I can throw you honey." Pepper said before giving him a quick peck to his lips. "You hate these conventions, so you suddenly wanting to come to this one specifically lets me know that you're up to something." Pepper says before grabbing her purse. She turns to Matthew. "And as his personal assistant it's your job to make sure he doesn't end up on some magazine cover or some breaking news. Keep him in the building and out of trouble."

"You make it seem like I'm a child and he's my babysitter." Tony says and Pepper simply shakes her head.

"I should be back in time for dinner, I made reservations so make sure he's dressed and ready to go." Pepper was about to head out when Matthew called her.

"And when does he take his nap?" Matthew asked. Pepper sent him a glare before sauntering out of the room. "This sucks. I'm in Paris, and I'm stuck with you." he looked over to Tony who was rummaging around his bag before pulling out a transparent sheet and sliding it across the table. "What are you doing?" Matthew watched as Tony touched the sheet activating a hologram.

"I'm looking for someone." Tony said swiping and typing away. "A doctor Ralph Heisenberg."

"Ok, why?" Matthew asked walking beside him hoping to see what he was trying to accomplish.

"Well while I was assisting SHIELD with their little project, I may or may not have been snooping and spotted the doctor's name on one of Nick's files." Tony said when a picture appear. "And once I had a name—"

"You found out he was going to be at this convention and made up some bullshit story about getting together with great minds that you sold to your girlfriend so we could be here." Matthew said and Tony look over to him.

"Pretty much." Tony said with a smile. "Dr. Heisenberg has a connection to SHIELD, I want to know what it is. And don't worry, we won't even have to leave the hotel."

"He's staying here?"

"Yep." Tony said already hacking into the hotel's system to find out where the doctor was staying.

Pepper stood looking down to her cell phone as she waited for the elevator to open. She glanced up as the doors opened only to stop when she saw a familiar face.

"Clint, hey." Pepper said stepping onto the elevator. "This is a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here?"

"Working." Clint said with a nod. Pepper noticed the man dressed in all black stood at a distance in the small elevator. "The agency wants us to keep an eye on someone. What are you doing here?"

"The convention. Tony surprisingly wanted to come and it could be good for the company." Pepper said as the elevator stopped. "Well I have a meeting." She stepped off the elevator, but stopped and turned back to him. "Have you—" she cleared her throat. "Have you heard from her?" She was surprised when Tony came back and said that Katie was gone. She didn't believe it, but with each passing day there was no word from her. Pepper hated to admit that she was kind of glad. Tony wasn't pouring all of his energy into this woman, but the other part of her was guilty. Tony liked to pretend that he was fine, that not seeing Katie didn't effect him, but there were times Pepper would find him standing on the balcony alone. As much as Pepper hated to admit, Katie had become Tony's best friend, one he was finding it hard to just forget.

"No," Clint said before reaching forward and pressing one of the buttons. "I should go." Pepper nodded and took a step back and watched as the doors slid closed.

Clint stood on the elevator staring up to the numbers, before pulling out his cell phone and dialing a familiar number.

" _Agent Barton, please tell me you haven't run into trouble already._ " Fury answered.

"I'm not sure yet sir," Clint replied. "Stark is here."

 _"You think he's going to be a problem?"_ Fury asked.

"This is Stark sir, he doesn't come to conventions, he likes his toys not people." Clint replied. "I think he maybe up to something."

" _As long as his something doesn't involve our doctor then I don't care._ " Fury said. " _Where is Heisenberg now?"_

"In his room. I'm doing a sweep." Clint says as the doors slide open. He freezes when he sees a maid down the hall walk past before disappearing down another. He was a couple of feet away, but there was no denying the woman's resemblance.

 _"Agent Barton, did you hear me?_ " Fury asked.

"Sir, I have to go. I'll call if anything comes up." Clint spoke before ending the call before the director could reply. Clint almost ran down the long hallway, stopping and looking in the direction the woman had gone, but there was no one there. "I'm going nuts." he muttered as he scanned down all the halls. It wouldn't be the first time he thought he saw Katie. The last time he saw her was right before she jumped off of the roof of SHIELD. It had been a little over a year since the last he saw her and if you asked him the exact time he probably could give it to you. He missed her with every passing day and it killed him not knowing where she was or the fact that she thought he didn't choose her. He pressed a finger to his comlink. "We're all clear, keep your eyes open. I don't want any surprises."

Katie found herself back in the lobby, glad that the crowd had thinned down a bit. She looked over to the front desk to see that the clerk was nowhere in sight. If she was going to do this then it was going to have to be now. She quickly walked behind the front desk going straight for the computer. After bypassing the initial security screen, Katie was able to search the guest log, but to her dismay Heisenberg wasn't checked in under his name.

"Great." Katie muttered. This was going to take longer than she anticipated. She glanced up making sure she was still in the clear before glancing back down to the screen. Now she had to locate the room purchased with Heisenberg's credit card. Which would've been a snap if the computer wasn't ancient and moving slower than a snail. "Come on." she looked over to see the Clerk appearing on the other side of the lobby. "Shit." she muttered looking down to the computer when the information suddenly appeared. "Got it." she quickly closed down the screen and scurried from behind the desk. She was so determined to get away that she wasn't paying attention and bumped into someone causing them to drop their glasses.

"Shit, I'm sorry." Katie said dropping down to pick them up. "I don't think they're—" she stopped when she looked up to familiar green eyes. "Bruce?" Bruce's eyes widened as he looked to Katie.

"Katie, what—"

Katie looked over her shoulder to see the clerk looking over to her and Bruce with a look of confusion.

"This is all I need right now." Katie said before turning back to Bruce. "Bruce I know you have no reason to do this, but I need you not to tell anyone that you saw me here."

"What are you doing here?" Bruce asked. "Are you here to see Tony?" Katie's eyes widened. "You didn't know he was here?"

"No." Katie said closing her eyes and letting out a deep breath. She opened her eyes and pointed to the elevator. "No problem at all monsieur, I will be happy to show you." Bruce looked around confused but followed Katie over to the elevators. Once they stepped inside they turned to each other.

"You want to tell me what's going on here?" Bruce asked. "No one has heard anything from you, I thought you were dead."

"Well I'm not." Katie said taking a step toward him. "I'm..." even after all this time she couldn't find a word to describe what she was doing. "I'm digging."

"You have a lot of people looking for you, you know that?" Bruce asked. "After that stunt at SHIELD, you're at the top of the most wanted list."

"All I did was turn the lights off." Katie countered with a shrug.

"No all you did was prove to an agency that can't afford to be compromised that there is one person who can and has proven that they're not really safe." Bruce replied. "I think they've created a special threat level just for you."

"That's cool," Katie replied looking over her shoulder as the elevator doors slide open. "Look, no one can know I'm here. Once I do what I came here to do, then I'm gone."

"What did you come here to do?" Bruce asked and Katie shook her head.

"Sorry Bruce, I'm on this mission alone." Katie said before turning about to walk away. She stopped and turned back to the man before standing on the tips of her toes to place a kiss on his cheek. "It's good to see you my green friend." and with that she turned and almost ran away.

"Why do I get the feeling this weekend isn't going to be as calming as I would like." Bruce says looking down to his watch that's monitoring his heart rate. He notices the subtle spike and sighs before going to find Tony.

Katie walked down the halls, now looking over her shoulder because now there were people here who knew who she was. She'd gone all this time without coming under anyone's radar and now she was so close to being caught. Katie was so deep in her head that she barely missed bumping into someone. She let out a long sigh when she saw that it was Cheri.

"Sotte, where have you been, I have been looking for you everywhere." Cheri said forcefully grabbing Katie's arm and pulling her.

"I had to pee and then I got lost." Katie replied trying the pull from the woman's grasp, but for a older lady she had a really tight grip. "where are we going?"

"I'm taking you somewhere you can't get lost." the woman replied. Katie was about to question her when they passed a hall. Two guards, Katie instantly recognized as SHIELD posted outside a door.

"It's now or never." Katie muttered before turning to Cheri who was still pulling her. "Oh, Cheri?" the older woman stopped and turned to Katie.

"What do you—" the woman's question was cut off as Katie quickly wrapped an arm around the woman's neck.

"No offense, but the stick up your butt is making you a bitch, so how about a nap." Katie said before looking around to make sure the coast was clear as she felt the woman go limp in her arms. Katie dragged the woman inside a nearby maid's closet before straightening out her uniform and headed back toward the room. She stopped just at the corner of the hall peeking to see the agents still at their post not looking like they're about to move for any reason. Her back pressed firmly on the wall, Katie closes her eyes. There's only one way in that room and that means getting the two obstacles out of the way. And that meant calling them to her... sort of. "Oh my god!" she yelled. "He has a gun!" She looked around to make sure no one other than the guards heard her, but no one even stepped out of their room.

The agents stood outside Heisenberg's and shared a look after hearing the voice.

"Could be nothing." one of them said and the other shrugged. "Some kid just messing around."

"Or it could be something and I don't want to be the one to tell the hawk that we didn't at least check it out."

"I doubt he would even care."

"Whatever, I'm going." and with that one of the agents headed in the direction the voice came a hand hovering above his gun. The other guard stayed at his post watching his partner walk down the hall. He shook his head before letting his eyes roam the other end of the hall. He heard what sounded like a grunt and turned back to see his partner no where in sight.

"Reese?" the agent called but didn't get a reply. He had a feeling that something wasn't right, so he looked over his shoulder to the door. He wouldn't go far and he'd be back soon enough. He took out his gun and headed down the hall. "Reese?" It was at the end of the hall that he found his partner lying on the floor unconscious, a maid standing above him. "What the hell happened?"

"There was this woman," Katie said walking over to the agent. "And she totally just did some Kung fu shit and just—" her hand quickly shot out grabbing the the top of the gun pulling it forward causing the clip to drop to the floor. The agent swung a fist and Katie ducked barely missing the hit. She grabbed the side of his arm before twisting it and pushing his face into the wall. She pulled him back slightly before pushing him back into the wall, this time the hit knocking him unconscious. "Now that was a workout." Katie says now out of breath before bending over and grabbing one of the agents and pulling him to the maids closet. She did the same with the other agent, stuffing their bodies inside the cramped space with Cheri. After a few moments of cleaning up her mess, Katie found herself standing outside of Heisenberg's door. She plastered on a bright smile before reaching up a fist and rapping on the door. "Le ménage!" she called hoping the German born was familiar with the French translation of housekeeping. She stood there looking down either side of the barren halls before turning as the door opened and a gray haired man appeared.

"I did not call for housekeeping." the man said his German accent thick and aged.

"Well here at Le Faubourg we like to anticipate our guests needs." Katie said before reaching behind her and pulling out the gun she snagged from one of the agents. "Like now, you need to walk back into your room slowly and take a seat."

"Who are you?"

"Let's just say we have some common acquaintances." Katie said stepping inside as the man backed away. "Now take a seat, we should talk."

Clint was doing a sweep of the outside of the hotel, glad to have come up empty. He was actually hopeful that he can get the doctor back to HQ without any hitches.

"Exterior clear, how's it going up there?" Clint asked. He waited for a response, but the only answer he got was silence. "This is Hawkeye, reply." still nothing and that's when he began having a sinking feeling. Without a second thought Clint went running back into the hotel, heading straight for the elevator.

Bruce knocked on Tony's door and wasn't surprised when it swung open to see Matthew, the new edition to their screwed up group.

"What's up doc?" Matthew greeted moving aside to let the man inside. "I thought you were smart enough to skip this fiasco."

"Tony called me again last night and gave me some story about how this was a once and a lifetime opportunity for me to congregate with my peers." Bruce said stepping inside the room.

"Plus he told you there was a chance Dr. Ross could be here." Matthew said and Bruce gave the man a confused look. "It was a long plane ride and I talk non stop to distract myself from the whole thought of possibly plummeting to my death, but don't worry I'll help you woo your girl."

"Thanks for the offer, but no thank you." Bruce said glancing around the room. "Where's Tony?"

"Oh you are going to love this." Matthew said when Tony finally appeared now dressed in a black suit and tie that fit him impeccably as always. "That's what you're wearing." 

"I'm not sure how long this is going to take and I thought I wouldn't waste time for my date." Tony said before looking over to Bruce. "Brucey baby you made it, I'm glad."

"Stop calling me that and why are you glad to see me?" Bruce asked.

"Because you intimidate people you know with your whole green rage monster and I need a little intimidation on my side." Tony said straightening his tie. He glanced down to his watch. "We have to do this now."

"Do what exactly?" Bruce asked still trying to decipher what was happening.

"Oh, we're going to shake down some German scientist." Matthew said and Bruce looked over to him waiting for the punch line. When it didn't come he looked over to Tony who simply nodded.

"Ok, why?"

"Heisenberg's in bed with SHIELD, and I want to know why." Tony said before heading to the door, Matthew behind him. Bruce stood there for a moment suddenly having the feeling that Katie and Tony's plans were crossing and they didn't even know it. The doctor shook his head before turning to catch up with Tony and Matthew.

Heisenberg sat in the center of a couch as Katie sat in a chair across from him, a gun held firmly in her hand pointed at him.

"You have no idea what you are doing you dumme schlampe." Heisenberg hissed and Katie let out a snort.

"Would you believe that a stupid bitch isn't the worse thing I've been called." Katie replied crossing her legs. "Lets cut through the bullshit, shall we. I have places to be and you have a speech to give."

"I will not tell you anything." the doctor replied defiantly turning away from Katie.

"The agents who were outside your door are going to be gone for a while meaning there won't be anyone here to stop me when I beat you to death with this gun." Katie said and the doctor turned to her. "You're being escorted by SHIELD Agents, which I can only assume means they think you're worth protecting. Why is that?" Heisenberg remains silent and Katie shakes her head before holding up the gun and pulling the trigger shooting the man in the shoulder. The man lets out yelp, but bites his bottom lip to stop any sound from coming out. Katie quirks an eyebrow. He was trying not to show how painful the shot was. "Now the first shot was not fatal, it'll heal in a month or so, the next shot starts altering behavior. What do you offer SHIELD?" The man gripped his bleeding shoulder before turning back to Katie. "Ok, lets go for the leg. I'm sure the ladies will think a limp is sexy." she pointed the gun toward Heisenberg's knee cap.

"Knowledge!" he snapped and Katie brought her eyes back to him. "I can offer them knowledge."

"You're a physicist, they literally employ hundreds of them. Why are you so special?" Katie asked.

"Not my knowledge of physics, but my knowledge from work with Arnim Zola." Heisenberg says and Katie turns away slightly surprised. "You have heard of him?"

"You can say that." Katie says.

Clint stood nervously on the elevator as he impatiently waited for it to reach his intended floor. He let out a groan of annoyance when it stopped sooner than he wanted. But his annoyance only grew when he saw who was stepping onto the elevator.

"Huh?" Tony said stepping onto the elevator with Matthew and Bruce. "Now this is a surprise. What are you doing here big bird?"

"None of your business Stark." Clint said reaching around the man to close the elevator door. "I can't say I'm surprised, you seem to make it a point to stick your nose in other peoples business."

"I'm sorry, what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Tony asked taking a step forward only for Matthew to pull him back. Tony looked over to the young man.

"Even I know he could take you and I don't even know him." Matthew said.

"Well why don't I introduce you." Tony said. "Matthew Banks meet Clint Barton." Tony turned back to Clint. "Big bird meet Katie's little brother Matthew." Clint's eyes go to the man and Matthews once passive glance morphed into a glare.

"So you're Bart?" Matthew said taking a step toward the archer.

"Let's not do this." Bruce said pulling Matthew away. "Clint, what are you doing here now?"

"Sorry, doc it's sort of need to know." Clint said glancing up to the increasing numbers relieved he was almost to his destination. Bruce just shook his head.

"You wouldn't be here because of Dr. Ralph Heisenberg would you?" Bruce asked and the look Clint gave him was answer enough. "That's just perfect."

"I knew Stark being here would cause trouble." Clint said looking back to the elevator doors. "I don't know what you're doing here, but stay as far away from the doctor as humanly possible." The doors slid open and Clint pushed his way out, running down the hall. Tony stepped off the elevator running down the hall as well, Matthew right on his tail as Bruce decides to just hang back away from all the excitement and just leisurely walks down the hall.

Clint knew absolutely something was wrong when he ran to the doctor’s room and found that the guards he ordered not to move from this post were nowhere in sight. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the key card, quickly swiping it and opening the door to find the doctor sitting on the couch gripping his bleeding arm.

"She went that way!" Heisenberg says pointing toward the bedroom. Clint looks over to the door, before turning as Tony and Matthew come to the door.

"Have Banner check him out." Clint orders pointing to Heisenberg.

"What's going on?" Tony asks and Clint simply shakes his head before heading into the bedroom. He walks inside to find a gun sitting on the bed, but his eyes go to the opened window whose curtains blow in the window. "What—" Tony bursts in looking over to the window.

"Stay out of this Stark!" Clint says walking over to the window, peeking out his head just in time to see someone slide around the corner of the building on the ledge. Clint lets out a low growl before climbing out of the window to stand on the very narrow ledge. He carefully and quickly slides to follow the woman. Tony peeks his head out of the window looking up to Clint before looking down at how high they were.

"You do know that you're not actually a hawk?" Tony asks. "If you fall, that's just like the end."

"Will you shut the fuck up Stark!" Clint yelled trying to focus on keeping his feet secure. He moved around the corner to see an open window. He slipped into the window dropping inside the empty room to see the room's door wide open. There was no hesitation as he runs out into the hall to see what looked like a maid turning down a corner further down the hall. "Hey!" he yells before running after her. The moment he turns the corner he sees the maid now full on running toward the elevator. She stops to push the button and having the elevator instantly open. The maid steps inside before turning to agent and in that moment they both stop and just look to the faces neither had seen in what seemed like forever. "Kat?" Katie took a slight step forward only for the elevator doors to slide closed. Clint's feet are running again, this time only stopping to push the button, hoping for the doors to just slide open and for her to still be there.

"Barton!" he hears Tony's voice but does stop his attempt at bringing her back. "Barton!" Tony snaps grabbing the archer's shoulder only for Clint push him away. "What the hell is wrong with you, who were you chasing?"

"Katie." another voice speaks and they turned to see Bruce walking over to them.

"You saw her?" Clint asks glad that the woman he saw in the elevator wasn't just a figment of his imagination.

"Yeah, I sort of ran into her in the lobby earlier." Bruce said.

"And you didn't think that was something to share?" Tony asked.

"I was hoping to avoid the crazy for a while, but I see now that's impossible." Bruce said with a shake of her head. "She must have found out about Heisenberg and got to him first." Tony turns back to the elevator as they slide open both he and Clint stepping inside. "Tony, she's gone, you know she's gone." Tony doesn't say anything as the elevator doors slide closed.

The moment Katie's feet touch the floor of the lobby she's moving. She glances over to clerk who raises a hand for her to come over to him which she ignores as she turns and enters the staff quarters. Once she reaches the locker room she snags her bag and slips back on her clothes and tosses her bag over her shoulder.

"Breathe Katie." she tells herself as she feels her heart ramming in her chest as the sight of Clint remains glued in her mind. She walks back toward the lobby, stopping as she opens the door to see Clint and Tony standing in the middle, their eyes scanning before one of them spots her. "Tony." Katie mutters as her and the man's eyes meet. She refuses to to be caught, by anyone and at this point running was second nature, so Katie begins backing away.

"Wait!" Tony called already running after her, Clint right behind him.

"Monsieur!" The clerk calls trying to stop the two men, but his cries were falling upon deaf ears as Tony and Clint push through the door in to the staff area. They ran as fast as their feet could take them, ending up just outside the back door. Both men stood there, breathing heavily as they let their eyes scan over the area, but Katie was just gone.

"I can't believe she ran from me." Tony said still heaving. He glanced over to Clint. "Actually I can believe it, you're here." Tony turned and walked back into the hotel. Clint stood there for a moment letting his eyes scan over the area hoping to see a clue as to where she went. When he didn't see anything he sighed and turned walking back into the hotel as well.

Clint walked back to Heisenberg's room to find Bruce and Matthew still trying to help the man who was still bleeding.

"He's going to need to get to a hospital." Bruce said looking over to Clint.

"That won't be necessary," Clint says and they look over to him confused. "You guys can go."

"Barton—" Bruce says standing to his feet. "If he doesn't get medical attention he's at risk for bleeding out, or infection."

"Which I'm fully aware of doc," Clint says turning her eyes to the man. "But first me and Heisenberg have to have a little talk about what happened today."

"I know what happened, that crazy bitch shot me." The man hissed still keeping pressure on his arm. "Did you at least catch her?" All eyes once again went to Clint.

"No." Clint replied. With those words Matthew was storming out of the room.

"Matt!" Bruce called before looking to Clint. "He needs a docto." and with that Bruce turned to catch up to Matthew. Once the door closed Clint turned to the German doctor whose eyes were on his arm. After a moment Heisenberg turned to see Clint looking down to him.

"What?"

"You didn't see who shot you." Clint said taking a step to the man. "It all happened so fast and you couldn't quite see their face."

"What are you talking about, she was sitting right in front of me when she shot me!" Heisenberg said with a shake of his head. "She was about to shoot me again if I didn't tell her why your agency hired me."

"Look, I get it, you want revenge. I'm just telling you that it's not going to happen." Clint replies his eyes growing darker and he kneels in front of the doctor. "I know it doesn't make much sense, but take my advice and just feign ignorance."

"And if I don't?" Heisenberg asked and Clint smiled slightly which only unnerved the doctor.

"I'm the only assurance that you get back to DC in one piece." Clint said standing up straight. "Just imagine what would happen if I'm not happy."

Later that evening Clint stood in the back of the auditorium watching Heisenberg standing at a podium giving his speech to the hundreds of other great minds in the room. He notices the doctor ever so often rubbing his freshly bandaged shoulder.

"We all clear?" Clint whispered into com-link. His agents replied back that everything was clear. Clint knew he should be relieved, but it only verified that Katie really was gone for good. "Well keep your eyes open. We're not home free until we get him back on that carrier to HQ." And so he stood there listening to the most boring speech he'd ever heard. He thanked God when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He suspected it was the director to yell at him some more, but he glanced down to his phone to see that it was an unknown number. "Barton," Clint spoke, but no one said anything. "Hello, is anybody--"

 _"First time we're both in Paris and we're not even together."_ Katie spoke. Clint lifted his eyes to Heisenberg who still was giving his never ending speech before dipping out of the auditorium.

"Where are you?" Clint asked.

_"You're the enemy now, I'm not going to tell you."_

"I'm not your enemy Kat." Clint replied. "I just--" he let out a sigh. He hadn't spoken to her in so long and now that he was he didn't know quite what to say. "I need to see you." she didn't say anything for a moment.

" _I'm in Paris Bart,_ " Katie replied. _"Where do you think I am?"_ and with that the line ended.

Clint looked down to his phone before looking over his shoulder to the auditorium door. He reached into his ear pulling out his com link before dropping it to the floor and stomping on it with his boot. After that, there was no turning back and so Clint headed across the lobby and out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

_There are moments in life where doing what's right could be construed as the absolute wrong thing to do. Going to see a woman considered a threat, by some might not be the right thing to do. To Clint, however, whether it was right or wrong, it didn't matter. All he knew was that he needed to see Katie. And so that's what he did._

_One of the perks of having a friend like Katie was that to distract you from the fact that you didn't know important things about her, was to tell you lots and lots of trivial things about her. That's why Clint could probably tell you her favorite food, color, hair band and a bunch of other things no one probably would care about. He also knew places she wanted to visit in her life, and Paris made the list. She told him that if she ever got the chance to go to Paris she would visit one place no matter what. Paris at night didn't compare to much of anything. It was just flawless. And it too was a city that never slept. The Eiffel Tower was one of the biggest attractions and even at night was filled with people. Clint arrived trying his best to move through the crowd, and search for Katie among the many faces. He didn't expect for her to make finding her easy, but he didn't expect it to be this hard. He only stopped when he felt someone pulling on the back of his jacket."Monsieur!" a small voice said and Clint turned to see a boy who looked no older than a above twelve or thirteen. "Are you Bart?" Clint looked somewhat confused by this seemlessly random greeting, but nodded. The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone handing it to Clint before running away._

_"Hey!" Clint called after the boy. "Wait, come back here!" It was no use, the boy had disappeared in the crowd. The phone began vibrating and Clint glanced down to it before hesitantly bringing it to his ear. "Yeah?"_

_"Were you followed?" Katie's voice asked and he lifted his head scanning around to see if he could spot her._

_"No." he replied spinning around. "Kid with a burner phone, you watch way too many movies."_

_"Some of the best ideas come from movies." Katie replied and Clint smiled. "So you found me, I guess you did listen when I talked."_

_"Where are you Kat?" Clint said wanting more than ever just to see her._

_"How do you know you weren't followed?" Katie asked and Clint sighed._

_"Because I'm me, now just come out so I can see you." Clint said. She didn't say anything and for a moment he thought she had hung up. "Kat?" That's when he felt a tap on his shoulder which caused him to swing around. There she was, phone pressed to her ear. They both pulled the phones down at the same time as their eyes stayed on each other._

_"If you were followed I'm going to kick your ass." Katie said before walking around him. Clint smiled lightly before turning and following her. "So I can assume that since you're not cuffing me, that coming here wasn't to drag me back to the farm."_

_"No." Clint replied now unable to take his eyes off of her. After not seeing her for so long it seem that's all he wanted to do at the moment. He didn't necessarily need to talk, but he just wanted to look at her. "You know why I'm here Kat."_

_"I thought I did," Katie replied looking up to the brightly lit Eiffel Tower. "I thought I knew a lot of things, but it turns out I didn't" she glanced over to him. "I thought SHIELD were the good guys, I thought you would always be there for me."_

_"I am always—"_

_"Stop!" Katie snapped holding up her hands toward him. "This, us being here isn't about us."_

_"Then what is it about?" Clint asked turning to face her. "Why did you call me?"_

_"Because the man you're in charge of protecting," Katie said turning to face him as well. "Dr. Heisenberg, he's not who you think he is. He's former Nazi and possibly current HYDRA." Clint looked down to her for a moment before tearing away from her gaze. "Did you just hear what I said?"_

_"Yeah I did." Clint said turning back to her. "I know who he is Kat." Katie's eyes widened at that response._

The snap of the director's fingers snapped Clint from his thoughts. Clint cleared his throat and turned to Fury who didn't look none to happy.

"Am I boring you Agent Barton?" Fury asked angrily.

"No sir." Clint said standing up a little straighter, his hands clasp behind his back. He'd been standing there for nearly fifteen minutes listening to the director ream him for the screw up under his watch in Paris.

"Agent Barton, I assumed after all this time you would be ready to assimilate back into your position." Fury said placing himself in front of Clint. "Was I wrong in my assumption?"

"It was a glitch sir," Clint replied. "Glitches happen."

"Well it was a pretty damn big glitch that got Dr. Heisenberg shot in shoulder by some assailant no one got a look at." Fury snapped. "So tell me how does this person take out two damn good agents, shoot the doctor in the shoulder and scale a hotel without being seen?" Clint didn't say anything knowing there was nothing he could say that would appease the director at this moment. "You know I was surprised when you chose to come back. I mean I'm glad you came back but considering the alternative, I was surprised by your decision." Fury said turning and walking to sit behind his desk. "I think I wanted to believe that you knew that SHIELD is where you belonged, that coming back here was the best for you, but I'm not so sure now."

"What does that mean?" Clint asked. The director didn't say anything before initiating the privacy function of his office, and initiating the hologram. Clint turned as pictures appear on screen of him alone standing by the Eiffel Tower. The image changed to him talking to the young boy and the next was him talking to Katie. Clint turned back to the director his eyes darkened with anger. "So you do have eyes on me?"

"Are you really surprised?" The director asked. "I mean look at this from my view point. One of my best agents runs away with a woman hell bent of taking down my agency and then that agent just comes back as if none of it happened. And then on your first leading mission since being back your charge is shot by a ghost apparently. To top it all off for one whole hour you went off line. Wouldn't you be a little suspicious?" Clint turned back to the image of him and Katie.

"Why didn't you take her?" Clint asked. "She was right there, you could've made the grab."

"I thought about it. I really did," Fury said with a shake of his head. "But I had to decide if my gains were worth more than my loses." Clint turned. "I need you here Agent Barton, now maybe more than ever." Nick stood to his feet and walked around to Clint. "So I chose to let her go. She's been keeping quiet, well except for shooting my scientist. But it's only proving one thing. She doesn't have anything. After all this time of digging she still has nothing." he looked over to the screen. "I let her go because she finally has something to occupy her time."

"What if she does find something sir?" Clint asked. "I mean you know she's not going to let this go, and someone with that much drive could inevitably be a threat."

"I will worry about that bridge when I get to it." The director said reaching down and picking up a tablet from his desk. "I will accept your incident report even though I'm sure ninety five percent of it is fabricated." he glanced back up to Clint. "I have eyes on you Agent Barton and will continue to have eyes on you until I feel that I can trust you again." Clint simply nodded in response. "Alright, you're dismissed." Clint turned to leave but stopped short of the door. "Was there something else?"

"Yes," Clint said turning back to the director. "Does it not bother you that Heisenberg was brought in? C'mon sir, progressive thinking or not that man is still the enemy and we're letting him in the front door."

"Barton I thought you were aware of the blurred lines of SHIELD. We accept any intel we can get as long as it can be used. Do not think for a second that all of Heisenberg's activities aren't being monitored." The director placed the tablet back on his desk. "The doctor is a caged bird Agent Barton and we're watching every move he makes."

"You're in charge, sir." Clint said with a slight shake of his head before turning and leaving the director's office. Fury stood there for a moment before leaning against his desk and looking over to the images of Katie and Clint both staring at the other with a look he hoped wouldn't bite him in the ass later. He turned when the sound of his phone ringing snapped him from his thoughts.

"Fury," The director spoke. The words told to him made him close his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose. "When you say missing—" he listened a little longer not hearing what he wanted to hear. "That's what I thought." he let out a sigh. "No, Rick Mason is a big boy, and there is usually a method to his madness, he'll pop up soon."

Clint walked down the hall from the director's office. He wanted so badly to just fall back into his life. To just be the archer who aimed where he was told without questions asked. But he was a fool to think that was even possible. Clint stepped inside the elevator letting his back lean against the back wall as he closes his eyes and his mind once again wanders.

_"What do you mean you know?" Katie asked angrily. "It's been a year and a half, they couldn't have brainwashed you that quickly." she shook her head. "Who am I kidding, this is SHIELD. This conversation is over." she turned and walked away, but Clint wasn't going to let her go that easily. He was in step right behind her._

_"Will you listen to me!" Clint said before reaching out and grabbing her arm. He didn't expect for her to jerk out of his grasp and turn to him with a look of utter betrayal._

_"I'm tired of listening to you Agent Barton." Katie said his name sounding like poison on her lips. "I can't believe I thought—" she shook her head again before turning, but he once again grabbed her arm. "Will you let me go!"_

_"No, I won't!" Clint snapped. '"I love you Kat and you love me, I know you do and I won't let you go."_

_"It doesn't matter because you live in hell and you work for Lucifer." Katie hissed in anger. "It doesn't matter because when I offered you a way out you threw it back in my face.”_

_"You want to yell at me, you want to hate me, fine, but I can't let you go, I refuse to."_

_"It's too late for that." Katie said once again snatching away from him. "You let me go a long time ago, so how about we do ourselves a favor and just stop torturing ourselves with fantasy." she turned and walked off once again._

_"I didn't let you go!" Clint called but she didn't stop walking. "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer!" and that did it. Those words made her feet stop moving. Katie stood there for just a moment before turning back to Clint and they stood there letting his words sink in. He didn't know what to expect when suddenly she stalked back over to him. Without a word she slapped him on the arm._

_"What the hell did you do?!" she snapped._

Clint's eyes opened to see Natasha standing in front of him with a quirked eyebrow. He stood up straight from the wall and scratched the back of his head to turn away from her searching gaze.

"You look like shit." Natasha said and Clint sent a glare to her. "So I hear Paris was anything but quick and easy." Clint stepped aside, not saying a word. "There is only one thing that you're tight lipped about these days. She was there wasn't she?" Clint gave her a sideways glance and that was all the answer she needed. "Wow, after all this time the ghost makes an appearance. Wait, is she the one who shot the doctor?"

"Discussion of missions outside the proper channels and regulated parties is strictly prohibited Agent Romanoff." Clint mutters and Natasha just rolls her eyes. For some reason, he'd been forced to take a couple of the agency ethics courses again and they were as boring then as they were all those years ago.

"Like that wasn't an answer." she replied. "What has she been doing this whole time?"

"What do you think?" Clint asked looking up to the decreasing digits of the elevator, wishing the doors would just open already.

"Still looking for big foot." Natasha said with a slight chuckle. "You'd think after all this time and coming up with nothing, she'd give up already."

"One would think." Clint said as the door finally opened and he stepped off quickly.

"Got some place to be?" Natasha asked following behind him trying to keep up with his large strides.

"Yeah, anywhere but here. I'm tired and would like to sleep." Clint rattled off over his shoulder.

"So I can count you out on this rescue mission I've just been handed?" Natasha asked and Clint stopped, and turned to her. "Pirates have hijacked one of our launch ships. The director wants a team to go take it back."

"The director wants me on this mission after I screwed up the last one?" Clint asked no one missing the skepticism in his tone.

"I'm in charge of team building on this one." Natasha replied. "I was just about to interrupt the Captain's morning jog to induct him on this trip." she saw the hesitation in his eyes. "C'mon, you could use the distraction."

"There's not a big enough distraction in the world Nat." Clint said with a shake of his head. "Thanks, but no thanks. I've been busting my ass trying to prove that I'm here and I just found out that none of it matters, so what's the point?" And with that Clint turned and walked away heading out the doors. He found his bike and slid on his sun glasses, climbing on top and peeling out of there like a bat out of hell. Clint sped down the highway only partly focused on the road ahead. The other part of his mind went back to the memory that wouldn't let him go.

_Clint looked down into Katie's expectant eyes. He imagined this moment for the longest time and now that it was here, he was nervous._

_"You had your way of getting answers and I had mine." Clint finally spoke._

_"Please don't tell me—" Katie shook her head as she realized what he was telling her. "You placed yourself in the belly of the beast?" Clint simply nodded and Katie turned her back to him as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "You shouldn't have done that."_

_"Excuse me?" Clint asked moving around her to meet her eyes. "I just told you that I risked everything—"_

_"Exactly!" Katie snapped. "What you're doing is even more dangerous than what I'm doing. If you get caught—"_

_"I won't."_

_"But if you do they will make you disappear." Katie said before punching him once again in the shoulder. "You're such an idiot you know that, you—" Her words were cut short by Clint's lips smashing into hers in a kiss that takes her breath away. Soon hands were roaming, exploring, getting reacquainted, and neither cared that they were standing in the middle of a public area surrounded by people. In that moment it seemed no one else even existed, but all great things come to an end._

_Katie jerked away, pulling from Clint's grasp and the man looked understandably confused. "You can't just kiss me and magically erase the last year and a half of me wondering what the hell about me was so easy to walk away from. You—" she pointed an accusing finger at the archer. "You did what I promised myself wouldn't happen again. You broke my heart Bart." Clint reached out to her, but she backed away. "Apparently your intentions were noble, but it doesn't change where we are right now. You on one side of the line and me on the other."_

_"That's not true. I'm on your side, I will always be on your side." Clint said. "I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you this whole time, but if I wanted to make this work then it had to be believable."_

_"It was," Katie said. "I really believed it. Hell I memorized every word you told me." she let out a tired sigh. "Look right now this isn't important."_

_"If this isn't important, then what is?" Clint asked._

_"Finding out just how deep this thing goes." Katie replied. "That's what happens now."_

Clint pulled up in front of his destination wanting to be anywhere but here. He slid off his glasses and looked up to the tall building.

"Just get it over with." he muttered to himself before forcing his feet to move toward the building. The elevator ride seemed to take forever, Clint was sort of glad for the delay. He wasn't ready for this, but the truth is he doesn't think he could ever get ready for what he was about to do. Once the doors slid open, he stepped out but didn't see anyone. He was almost wishing that no one was home so he could get the hell out of there. "Hello?" he called his voice carrying a bit. When there was no immediate reply, he simply turned back to get on the elevator.

"Am I to be questioned now?" a voice said from behind him. Clint turned to see Tony walking over to pour himself a glass of water. "That's why you're here isn't it, to get my statement of what happened in Paris?"

"No, that's not why I'm here Stark." Clint says before letting out a deep breath. It was the only way to keep his annoyance in check. "That night, she called me." Tony looked over to him with a furrowed brow. "She wanted to meet."

"You're lying." Tony said before turning away to take a sip of his water. "There is no way that after all this time, the first person she would want to see is you. You're the enemy."

"No, I'm the ally." Clint says and Tony shakes his head. "Whether you believe it or not, I did what I did for her."

"Right, I get it. I stomp on Pepper's heart all the time just so she knows I love her." Tony bit back. "Why are you here again?" Clint looked down to his watch.

"Because we need to be in your lab in exactly five minutes." Clint said bringing his eyes back to Tony.

"Why?" Tony asked.

"Because that's where she wants us to be." Clint says and so the men just stand there for a moment. "I did see her, and we talked."

"About?"

"The next move." Clint replied.

_Katie turned to Clint before feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She looked around not seeing much._

_"Look, whether you believe it or not you are being watched." Katie says turning back to Clint. " So I have to go." she turned to leaved but Clint once again grabbed her arm. "Bart, please just—" she turned back to him. "Look in three days I will contact you."_

_"Okay." Clint says still not ready to let go._

_"But you're going to have to be with Tony." Katie said and she didn't miss the look on his face. "It shouldn't take long to figure out a play for all of this, and when I do I'm going to need you two on the same page."_

_"Fine, but I can't promise at some point I won't hit him." Clint replied and Katie nodded._

_"And I can't promise that at some point I won't hit you for hitting him." Katie said stepping away from him. "Three days, at 1500 hours exactly." Clint nodded and watched as she turned away from him._

_"Kat!" he called and she stopped turning back to him. "You're not alone in this, know that."_

_"Prove it." Katie replied with a slight smirk before turning and disappearing into the night._

Clint and Tony rode the elevator in a very uncomfortable silence. Neither wanted to break it, but Tony being Tony just couldn't stay quiet for too long.

"How did she seem?" he asked and Clint glanced over to him.

"The same." Clint responded with a shrug. "She cut her hair like super short, but it looks nice." The doors slid open and both men walked off to see Matthew standing with a welders helmet on his head and a blow torch in his hand, as he bounced his head to the music that blared through the speakers.

"Music off!" Tony yelled. Once the music went off, Matthew's head lifted to see the two men. "You want to work down here and play music ridiculously loud, fine, only one rule. It has to be music, not someone screaming through the speakers."

"What is he doing here?" Matthew asked sitting the blow torch down and lifting the mask from his face.

"Look, Matt—"

"My name's Matthew." the young man interrupted as he crosses the room to stand in front of him."Why is the bastard who sold my sister out not bleeding out of some orifice in his body right about now?"

"He has her mouth." Clint says looking over to Tony.

"Yes he does, but I don't think anyone could top my kitten's potty mouth." Tony says walking around Matthew. "Jarvis, any calls?"

"No sir." Jarvis replied before Tony turned to Clint.

"It's three o'clock hawk boy, where is she?" Tony asked.

"What's going on?" Matthew asked looking between Tony and Clint.

"Agent hawk here said that back in Paris he met with Katie and that she was going to call here at this time to tell us what she's found out." Tony says looking down to his watch. "So either my punctual kitten is late or our agent friend here is lying." Both Tony and Matthew look over to Clint waiting for an answer, but it would seem none was needed.

"Sir, I have an incoming video call for you." Jarvis spoke and they all turned as the screen changed and soon appeared a familiar face.

"Hmm," Katie says leaning into the screen. "Tony's gained weight, Matthew seriously needs a hair cut and Bart looks constipated." she sat back and just chuckled. "Glad to see much hasn't changed."

"You forgot to mention your hair cut makes you look like a dude." Matthew said stepping forward. "It's good to see I still have a sister, just wished I could've gotten a goodbye or I don't know, money for my heartache and anguish."

"I gave you the next best thing." Katie replied looking over to Tony. "Someone I knew would look after you. Plus why would I say goodbye when I knew I would be seeing you again you dork."

"Not to interrupt the sibling squabbling, but where the hell have you been?" Tony asked and Katie let out a sigh. "Matthew's been worried sick."

"Please, you're the one who almost hired that shady private eye to find her." Matthew said before turning to Katie. "This guy's business card was printed on the back of somebody else's business card."

"I'm fine as you can see. I've been all over searching for the truth since SHIELD isn't in the truth telling business." Katie said looking over the camera. "Get me as close as you can."

"Where are you Kat?" Clint asked and Katie looked back down to the screen. "Why did you want us here?"

"Jarvis can you pull the information I downloaded?" Katie asked.

"Certainly Katie." Jarvis replied and soon a dated picture of a short man in a blue lab coat and red bow tie appeared on the screen.

"Meet Arnim Zola, born in Switzerland where he became the world's leading biochemist." Katie said. "The good doctor had questionable methods of researching that only appealed to one group of people. The Nazis, who at the time were working very closely to another group."

"Hydra." Clint said and Katie nodded.

"Aren't those the big bad wolves Cap was up against back in his day?" Tony asked and Katie nodded. "I thought SHIELD wiped them out."

"They weren't wiped out, just went into deep, deep hiding. It's a brilliant tactic. Let everyone think you're extinct while you're secretly making moves in the dark." Katie said with a slight shake of her head.

"Ok, I'm lost." Matthew said looking around to see if he was the only one not following along. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"Heisenberg, back in Paris told me that SHIELD wants him for knowledge he learned from his teacher." Katie said and the image changed to show Zola standing next to a young man. "Guess who his teacher was?"

"Wait, so let me get this straight," Tony says trying to make sense of the information. "SHIELD is now employing a possible Hydra members to help design their latest project?"

"It's a theory, but I'm thinking yes." Katie says. "All of Zola's findings are kept under a pretty tight lock and key which is proving even a little difficult for me." She shook her head. "I believe Warhol may be outsmarting his teacher, but whatever. It's not impossible, but I don't have the time to devote all my attention to it."

"So you want me and Jarvis to take a crack at it?" Tony asked and Katie smiled.

"I did, but I'm starting to think it won't work." Katie said and he looked over to her confused. "Accessing these files externally will take way too much time, but if you get inside—"

"You want me to do it?" Clint asked and they looked to him. "I'm sure we all can agree that I am the least qualified hacker in this entire room."

"I agree, but you can get Matt inside." Katie says turning to her brother. "With Tony in your ear you can download SHIELD's files on Zola so I can see what he was working on that they're gonna use for Insight."

"So you want me to walk into a government agency and hack into their system, steal some files and walk right back out?" Matthew asked.

"Pretty much." Katie says with a shrug. "Look, this is dangerous and it's probably idiotic to some extent, but I don't trust anyone as much as I trust you three. Look you don't want to do this, fine I still love you." None of them said anything, probably trying to decide if going through with this was a good idea. "It's your decision, and whatever you decide I won't love you any less, but I got to go."

"Can you at least tell us where you're going?" Tony asked.

"Wanna know the truth, I have no idea." Katie said. "All I have is coordinates."

"And you're going by yourself?" Clint asked taking a few steps closer. "I don't like you doing this, not by yourself."

"Good thing I'm not by myself then." Katie replied with a wink. "Got to go boys, I'm about to face something I wanted to avoid for as long as possible. I will talk to you soon." and with that the video ended. The three men stood there for a few moments not saying a word.

"Boats!" Matthew yelled startling both Tony and Clint who turned to him. "She would always said she would avoid boats for as long as she could." Clint and Tony just stare at the young man. "I'm sorry are we still moping about the fact that she's probably shacking up with somebody who isn't either of you or are we doing this?"

"I swear you're like her, but with a penis." Clint says with a shake of his head before looking to Tony.

"You think we can pull this off?" Tony asks and Clint simply shrugs. "Well that's enough for me." he looks over to Matthew who seems to be staring off into space. "What are you thinking about so hard over there Mattie?"

"A story, a really good story that would be believable enough to get me into SHIELD." Matthew said scratching the back of his head.

"Why don't you leave the story up to us and tomorrow you just play the part." Tony says and Matthew simply shakes his head before leaving the lab.

"You think he can handle this?" Clint asks looking over to Tony.

"Matthew is a very complex individual, who is extremely simple." Tony said turning back to the screen.

"That makes no sense." Clint replied.

"Exactly." Tony said. "Jarvis replay that video for me and clean up as much background noise as you can." Tony glanced over to Clint who was still standing here. "Did you want me to walk you to the door or something?"

"Bite me Stark. " Clint said before turning and heading for the elevator as well. Clint stepped on the elevator and the last thing he saw before the doors slide close was Katie's smiling face appearing on the screen.

Katie closed her laptop and jerked forward as the truck stopped. She glared over to the driver who simply shrugged.

"Where did you get your license, from the bottom of of a cereal box?" Katie asked as she slid her laptop into her bag. She let her eyes wander over the open water, one thought in mind. "I don't see anything." she looked over to the man in the driver's seat who simply chuckled. " Let me guess, launch ships are placed in the center of the ocean?" she looked back out to the water and sighed. "This is going to be a long trip isn't it?"

"You can say that again, but at least you'll have some attractive company." he said giving her a wide smile. Katie simply rolled her eyes before stepping out of the car.

"You're still such a perv, you know that don't you Mason?" Katie said walking to the trunk. "I'm glad to see some things will never change."

"It's been six years since we met, I'm sure some things have changed." he replied walking along side her. "Now let's go find ourselves some pirates on a hijacked ship."

"Argh." Katie said flatly.


	3. Chapter 3

We all come close to just giving up. Katie was no exception to this rule. There were many times when she'd been digging and would come up with nothing that she just wanted to say screw it and run back with her tail between her legs. Though Katie's saving grace was the voice of her father that seemed to know what she would need to hear, even all these years later. But now, Katie found something worth holding onto. It was the first solid lead in all this time and it felt like she was actually getting somewhere. The only issue she had currently was the mode of transportation. She heard a light chuckle and looked over to an old friend.

"What's so funny?" Katie asked and Rick simply gestured to her. Katie simply looked down to herself, only seeing the bright red life jacket that she wore around her neck. She shook her head and looked back over to the man. "Excuse me for not wanting to drown to death."

"Tell me bookworm, how is it that a woman whose taking on a government agency is prone to so many fears?" Rick asked with a chuckle. "You're suppose to be fearless, that's the only way you win."

"Being fearless is impossible." Katie says turning back to the open water. "Now striving to be fearless is doable." she glanced back over to Rick. "That's how you win." he simply gave her a slight nod. "And if you keep calling me bookworm I will toss you off this boat." she heard him chuckle again. "You'd think after all this time you would find another nickname."

_Why she was carrying so many books, even she didn't completely know. Especially since all SHIELD documents had been converted to digital files a while ago. Apparently the tech back then was a little unreliable and since there weren't any major crisis that needed her attention, she would have to make sure all files were converted correctly._

_She broke a mirror, and that's what she was blaming all of her bad luck on today. There was this suck ass assignment and now it was the idiot who just ran into her causing her to knock all the books from her arms._

_"You have to be fuc—" she stopped remembering the meeting she recently had with one of the HR people about her excessive profanity use. She looked down to the pile of books on the ground and just let out a frustrated sigh before bringing her eyes to the culprit. It was a man who seemed a little older than her, dark hair and an annoying smile now plastered on his face. She waved a hand in front of his face._

_"What are you doing?" the man asked._

_"Making sure you're not blind, so when I hit you no one will be offended." Katie replied with a shake of her head before bending down to pick up the books._

_"You know it's your own fault you know bookworm." the man replied bending down as well to help her pick them up. "I mean who still owns a book." Katie sent a glare over to the man who just blamed her for him bumping into into her._

_"Everything alright over here?" a voice asked, a little annoyance laced in. They both looked up to see Clint staring down to them._

_"Yeah, this jackass likes to bump into people and then blame them for it." Katie says snatching the rest of her books from the man's hands before standing to her feet._

_"Still the charmer I see Mason." Clint says and the man simply chuckles as he stands to his feet as well. "Maybe you should watch where you're going next time." Rick quirked an eyebrow before looking over to Katie a smirk coming to his face as he turns back to Clint who simply shakes his head._

_"Mason?" Katie asked looking over to the man. "You're Rick Mason?"_

_"The one and only, you've heard of me?" Rick asked his voice growing smoother._

_"Sort of. I've heard of your father and now I think I know why you're such a dick." Katie said before looking over to Clint. "I gotta go, I'll see you later." she looked back to Rick. "You bump into me again and we're going to put all that training into practice, got it?"_

_"Who are you?" Rick asked now truly interested in the woman he stumbled into._

_"Just a lab tech." Katie said before turning and scurrying off._

"You sure you're ready for this?" Rick asked his voice taking on rarely heard serious tone. Katie looked back over to him. "We could turn back, head to some place exotic and just sit on a beach somewhere drinking out of cups with tiny umbrellas." Katie turned at the sound of a distant fog horn and that's when she saw it. "It's your call bookworm, what are we doing?"

"We're too far to turn back now." Katie said looking over the launch ship. "It's time to find out the truth once and for all." They both looked up to the sky at the sound of a plane. "That must be the clean up crew."

"That means we're going to be everybody's enemy on that ship." Rick said and Katie glanced over to him. "Hey, I'm always game for a little adventure, I'm just making sure you are."

"I wish we had the time to tell you why you probably don't need an answer that question." Katie says standing to her feet and walking over to the black duffel bag that sat in the middle of the boat. "And to correct you, I'm going to be everyone's enemy, no one knows you're here. If I turn out to be wrong about all of this, I want you to be able to come out of this clean."

"You almost sound like you care about me." Rick says walking up beside Katie.

"I still don't know what to make of you Mason." Katie replied with a shake of her head. "You were Fury's right hand for a long time, what's changed now?"

"You doubt my loyalty?" Rick asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"I doubt everything about you." Katie replied before looking back down to the bag. "Which is why if this little union bites me in the ass I am going to hurt you in the worst way possible."

"Is it wrong that I'm turned on by that?" Rick asked and Katie simply playfully nudged him in the shoulder.

Once the boat got close enough to the ship, Rick cut off it's engine letting the boat float above the water. Rick lifted a crossbow which he pointed to the side of the ship before shooting, sending a zip line flying over the side. He pulled to make sure it was secure, before turning to Katie and holding open his arms.

"I knew I was going to get some action at some point." Rick said as Katie wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"How did I get stuck with you?" Katie asked with a shake of her head.

"Luck." Rick replied before pressing a release on the crossbow causing him and Katie to go flying toward the ship. They both eased up the side of the ship, spotting an armed man walking back and forth on the other side. They quietly climbed over the side of the ship, making sure to stay unseen. Rick nudges his head to the right and points for Katie to go to the left. Katie nodded before moving along the ship, keeping her eyes on the pirate who hadn't spotted her yet. She stopped, her back pressed against the wall when another pirate walked over to the other. There was a noise and both men turned their heads in the direction. Only one went to check it out while the other stayed at his post. Once the man's back was turned Katie quietly eased out of hiding, moving just quick enough to wrap an arm around the man's neck. He struggled of course throwing his elbow back into Katie's stomach. Katie grimaced slightly her hold on the man loosening but only enough for her to jerk her knee up in to his back. Soon she felt him grow limp in her arms and she let him fall to the floor. She placed a hand on her stomach, before turning at the sound of footsteps. Her hands rose in a fighting stance but stopped when she saw that it was Rick.

"You alright?" He asked and Katie simply nodded. "What are we looking for?"

"The reason a bunch of lab techs and an agent are on a launch ship." Katie said reaching into her bag and pulling out her tablet, pulling up the schematics of the ship. "Command is this way." Katie says pointing behind Rick before bringing her eyes back to him. "You're not coming with me, are you?"

"Whatever team they have working this—"

"Will stop whoever is hijacking this ship." Katie replied. "You're not supposed to be here and if they see you, how will you explain yourself?"

"Luck." Rick said with a smirk before walking past Katie. Katie turned watching him leave before turning and heading for the command center of the ship. She slipped the tablet back into her bag, before running down the deck. Her feet slid to a stop when she looked up as she spotted agents parachuting aboard. She quickly pinned her back to the wall, hiding herself in the shadows. Once the coast was clear, she continued, finding the entrance she'd been looking for. Soon the sound of gun fire could be heard, but she didn't stop, not until she heard a voice.

"Hey you!" An accented voice yelled and Katie stopped raising her hands and turning around to see the man's hand gun pointed right at her.

"Hey, I'm like seriously lost." Katie said taking a step toward the man.

"Don't move!" he ordered and Katie stopped. "Where did you come from?"

"Not your biggest problem." Katie replied before kicking up her leg tossing it right into his hand causing his gun to fly out of his hand. She sent the next kick into his stomach, before jumping up and grabbing some low hanging pipes and sending both feet right into his stomach knocking the wind right out of him. Katie fell back on her feet before reaching down and picking up his gun. "I might need this." she muttered glancing over to the unconscious man before turning and continuing her trek. Once she found the room, she noticed the door slightly open. She quietly pushed it open surprised to find the room occupied.

"This is awkward." Natasha said bent over typing something on one of the computers. "I was wondering if you were going to find me."

"I doubt that." Katie said and Natasha stood up straight meeting the Katie's gaze and the barrel of a gun. "So Black Widow, while everyone's here trying to rescue hostages, you're here. Doing what exactly?"

"Don't be stupid Banks." Natasha said and she noticed the grip on Katie's gun tighten and Natasha lifted her hands as she took a step forward. "I'm sorry, I guess that's still a touchy subject."

"Do not move." Katie said looking over the woman's shoulder to see a flash drive sticking from the computer as something is downloading. "What are you downloading?"

"That's classified information." Natasha says taking another slight step forward. "How did you get on this ship?"

"Change the subject, good tactic, but I'm not biting." Katie replies looking up to the screens as the files are downloaded. "Saving SHIELD Intel?" she looked back over to Natasha. "Must be something awfully important if Nicky entrusted you to do it."

"We don't have time for this, you're not going to shoot me so put down the gun." Natasha said taking another step forward. The moment she did, Katie shot a bullet in the spot right in front of her left foot.

"I beg to differ, I do want to shoot you, but at the moment it's not a necessity." Katie replied just as the front entrance burst open as Steve came flying in, knocking a man unconscious in the process. He lifted his head to the women, his eyes growing wide at the sight of Katie.

"Katie, what—" he stood to his feet looking around the room, his eyes settling on the computer files that are being downloaded. "What's going on here?" he looked back to Katie. "What are you doing here?"

"Better question, what the hell are you doing here?" Katie asked looking over to Steve before turning to Natasha. "Captain America SHIELD's pirate rounder now?"

"Put down the gun!" Natasha said her annoyance growing. She took another step, this one stopped by Steve catching her arm. Natasha looked over to him confused before moving aside. Steve moved forward, blocking Katie's gun from Natasha.

"Do you know what you being here could do?" Steve asked seriously. "These are peoples lives and you being here could've jeopardized the entire mission." He took another step toward her, the gun now touching his chest. "Now drop the gun Katie." Katie looked at him for a moment before looking over to Natasha just as she pocketed the flash drive. "Katie?" Katie tossed the gun aside before taking a step toward Natasha. Steve quickly grabbed her, holding her back. But everything stopped when they heard what sounded like a clink of metal. They turned to see the man they thought was unconscious now standing and tossing a grenade to the floor. No one stopped to do anything but turn and run. Katie felt one of Steve's arm's wrap around her waist practically carrying her with him as Natasha appears beside her, all of them jumping through the window just as the grenade exploded. They all sat, leaning against the wall out of breath.

"That one was my fault." Katie said.

"You're damn right." Steve said looking over to her. They sat there for a moment longer before Katie jumped to her feet and ran out of the room.

"Damnit!" Natahsa said patting her pockets as she stands to her feet. "She has the flash!" without another word the assassin went running out of the room after Katie, Steve right behind her.

"Natasha!" Steve called but it was no use.

Katie ran as fast as her feet would take her until she found herself back on deck. She stopped, looking down both sides, before picking one and just running. She would've gone until she couldn't run anymore, but a familiar face appeared in front of her catching her in his arm.

"Whoa there worm." Rick says looking down to Katie. "We won, pirates are gone, hostages saved."

"Yeah, but I have a pissed off Widow on my ass trying to get this back." Katie says holding up the flash.

"Katie!" Natasha yelled and they both turned as assassin and Steve ran over to them. "Give me the flash."

"That's not going to happen." Katie says about to turn and run, but Rick caught her. She looked over to him confused as his eyes just looked to her with a slight look of guilt.

"You were supposed to keep her busy, not lead her here!" Natasha called and both Rick and Katie looked over to her. Rick reached forward snatching the flash from Katie's hand and tossing it to Natasha.

"She found this ship all on her own." Rick called back before turning back to Katie who was now struggling to pull from his grasp. "I'm sorry worm, I only fight for one side."

"Remember what I said back in the boat?" Katie asked leaning in a little closer. "About that hurting you in the worse way possible if you crossed me?" she jerked up her knee hitting him right in the groin. Rick grimaced in pain as he released Katie and stumbled backwards. "You turned on now you son of a bitch!" and with that she turned running before jumping over the side of the ship.

"Katie!" Steve called running and peering over the side trying to spot her, but seeing nothing in the dark waters. He let out a slight growl before turning to Natasha who was checking with Rick. "What the hell is going on?" Steve turned to Rick. "Who the hell are you?" Rick simply held up a finger before turning, his hands going to sooth his sore privates. Steve turned back to Natasha. "If she's dead—"

"She's not." Natasha interrupted. "It's water, she can swim." she grabbed Rick's arm and began pulling him. "We have to go." Rick let out a slight squeal as the woman jerked his arm forward.

It wasn't until Clint and Matthew stood at the entrance of SHIELD, did Clint start to really doubt their plan.

"You shouldn't have worn the suit." Clint said looking over to the man who wore a black, tailored business suit. Matthew looked down to his clothes as he straightened his tie.

"Not a lot of people can pull off this look." Matthew says with a sly smile as they head for the elevator. "I'm one of the few who can."

"So you know the story?" Clint asked as they stood waiting for the elevator.

"Will you stop asking, Tony already beat that damn story into my head at the crack of dawn." Matthew replied. "I know it, even if I do think it's stupid."

"It's not stupid if it's believable." Clint replied as the door slid open and they both stepped inside. "Look, just follow the script and we can get out of this easy." The two rode the elevator in silence when suddenly the doors slid open and in walked a very angry looking Steve. He barely glanced over to Clint and Matthew before turning to face the doors. Matthew wore a huge grin as he turned to Clint.

"That's—" He pointed at Steve who still dawned the full on Captain America outfit from the mission.

"Yeah." Clint muttered reaching over and pushing the man's hand down. "Problem with the mission, Captain?" Steve looked over to Clint and shook his head.

"You could say that." Steve replied. He looked over to Clint as if there was more he wanted to say, but simply shook it off before turning back to the doors. "I didn't expect the unexpected." the doors finally slid open and Steve stormed out toward the director's office. Clint and Matthew followed, but stopped once Steve went inside slamming the door behind him.

"You just can't stop yourself from lying, can you?" Steve snapped as he walked over to the director who sat at his desk.

"I didn't lie, Agent Romanoff had a different mission than yours." Nick answered already expecting this visit.

"And this Agent Mason, what was his mission?" Steve asked and the director looked up to him.

"His mission was Ms. Chambers." Fury replied. "They weren't supposed to be there, but he went off line and couldn't be reached."

"What is his mission?" Steve asked. "Because from the looks of last night, I'd say he failed."

"Mason's mission was to keep an eye on Chambers, that's it." The director said.

"Which you didn't feel obliged to share with her friends who haven't seen or heard from her in all this time?" Steve bit back.

"You haven't seen or heard from her by her choice." Fury said. "And I'm not obliged to do anything."

"Those hostages could've died, Nick." Steve replied his voice portraying only seriousness in that moment.

"I sent a great soldier in there to make sure that didn't happen." Fury countered spinning his chair to meet the man's eyes.

"Soldiers trust each other, that makes it an army, not a bunch of guys just shooting each other." Steve retorted not backing down from this.

"Last time I trusted someone I lost an eye." Fury replied, a slight annoyance in his voice as he stood to his feet. They stood there a moment in silence letting the director's revelation swirl around the room. "Look I didn't want you doing anything you weren't comfortable with. Agent Romanoff is comfortable with everything."

"I can't lead a mission when the people I'm leading have missions of their own." Steve pressed as he took a slight step forward. "And I can't lead a mission against someone I'm not even sure is guilty."

"You weren't sent there for Ms. Chambers Captain, so whatever course of action occurred wasn't planned, but I'll deal with that later." Nick said. "In this agency you are going to have to get used to compartmentalization. Nobody spills all the secrets, because nobody knows them all."

"Except for you, huh?"

The director shook his head slightly and stood to his full height before looking back over to Steve.

"You're wrong about me, I do share." Fury countered. "I'm nice like that." without another word spoken the director walked around his desk and headed for the door. Steve not needing an invitation followed. The director only stopped when he spotted Clint and Matthew standing outside his door. "We had a meeting." Fury's eyes turned to Matthew. "One I'm very interested in getting to, but something has come up and I'm going to have to postpone for a later time."

"Is everything alright, sir?" Clint asked looking between the director and Steve, neither looking very happy.

"Everything is fine Agent Barton." Fury replied but turned at the sound of Steve clearing his throat. "Actually, come with me." Clint looked confused but nodded. The director turned to Matthew. "You wait in my office." he turned about to leave but stopped and turned back to Matthew. "And don't touch anything."

"Uh, yes sir." Matthew said with a nod before watching the director turn and walk away, Steve right behind him. Matthew quickly caught Clint's arm. "What do I do now?"

"What you came here to do." Clint whispered back before turning to catch up.

Matthew stood there nervous for a moment, looking around the hall as people moved about before turning and walking into the office closing the door behind him. The first thing he noticed was the awesome view that seemed to overlook all of DC. He let out a whistle as he pulled the comlink from his pocket and placed it in his ear.

"Link, checking in." Matthew spoke.

"Link as in missing link?" Tony questioned. "You have unlimited possibilities for a code name and you pick Link?"

"Hey, Iron Man, let's not debate on dumbass code names, shall we?" Matthew replied. "I'm in the director's office, alone."

"Nicky's computer?" Tony answered. "You're aiming high aren't you. You know what happened to the last person caught hacking his computer, don't you?"

"I thought the whole point of this was not to make me nervous, and when you say stuff like that I start to freak out." Matthew said taking a seat at the chair in front of the director's desk. "Ok, I'm sitting."

"I see you." Tony says from his spot in the lab as he stares up to the screen that's showing the hacked video feed into the director's office. He swiped a few files on the holo before splitting the screens. "You're a go." Tony stood and watched as one screen showed the man still sitting, while the other showed him standing and walking behind the director's desk. "There should be a port—" Before Tony could finish Matthew had found the flash port. "There I guess."

"What's next?" Matthew asked.

"Once the bug is implanted we should have access to all of SHIELD's files." Tony says picking up a small tennis ball and tossing it around. "So Mattie, let me ask you something. Do you think it's weird that I haven't asked Pepper to marry me yet?"

"Now is the time you want to have this conversation?" Matthew asked. "I'm seconds away from probably being arrested and tossed into a very small cell and you want to talk about relationships?"

"I just thought since we're just waiting here—"

"You're an idiot Tony." Matthew said watching the status bar loading. "And to answer your question, yes I do think it's weird that you haven't asked Pepper to marry you, but then again there are a lot of things I think are weird about you."

"Like?"

"Your fascination with my sister for one." Matthew replied. "It doesn't make sense, and probably answers your other question."

"You think my feelings for Katie are keeping me from asking Pepper from marrying me?" Tony asked.

"No, I think you're a little confused by your fascination with my sister too and you can't make any moves until you figure it out yourself." Matthew said as the bug implantation completed. "It's done, now what?"

"Well two options, you can stay, play out this whole story or you can say fuck it and get the hell out of there." Tony replied. He watched as Matthew stood there for a moment, but only a moment before snatching the flash and heading for the door. The moment he opened the door he stopped in his tracks, because he was blocked.

"Not the person I expected to open this door." Natasha said taking a step forward causing Matthew to step back. "You're Matthew Banks."

"Kind of going by Matthew now since the agency you worked for majorly screwed over me and my sister in the whole life department." Matthew said. "Thanks for that by the way."

"What are you doing the director's office?" Natasha asked watching him closely.

"Be calm." Tony spoke in his ear. "If she even thinks you're lying, you're not getting out of there."

"I came with Agent Barton to speak with the director." Matthew said. "The director was busy, took Barton and told me wait here."

"What did you need to speak with the director about?" Natasha asked.

"I'm sorry, that's need to know. You understand, don't you?" Matthew asked and Natasha simply smirked.

"What's in your hand?" Natasha asked and Matthew suddenly gripped the flash in hopes of just making it disappear.

"That's also need to know." Matthew replied. "Look I have a feeling that Director Fury is going to be gone for a while, so I'm just going to—" he made to side step her, but she moved to block him. "Come back later."

"Sure." Natasha said with a nod. "As soon as you give me what's in your hand."

"Don't do it." Tony whispered staring intently at the screen in front of him. "Deny, deny, deny."

"That's not going to work here." Matthew said and Natasha looked at him confused.

"What's not going to work?" she asked.

"Denying the truth." Matthew says finally holding up the flash drive. "You caught me. A bunch of Stark prototypes I have to deliver to the boss." Natasha reached for the flash, but Matthew pulled it away. "Yeah, my ass is on the line if I don't get these delivered so no you can't have it."

"I wasn't asking." Natasha replied before reaching out and grabbing his arm about to twist it behind his back, but before she could, Matthew grabbed her arm as well pushing her hard against the wall.

"Now you assumed that you could take me." Natasha strained in his grasp as she tried to pull free. "Bad ninja woman." he taunted. Natasha simply lifted a heeled foot and sent into straight into Matthew's foot. "Son of a—" Matthew stumbled, but looked up just as Natasha was about to send another kick his way. He caught her foot and twisted it before pushing her aside and running out the office. Natasha jumped to her feet, limping slightly on her now sore ankle out into the hall just in time to see Matthew step on the elevator and wave to her goodbye.

Matthew stood on the elevator still trying to catch his breath.

"I think you're completely over qualified to be my personal assistant." Tony spoke finally. Matthew smirked. "Where the hell did that come from?"

"I'll tell you when I get back, now though, just find me a way out of here." Matthew said.

Tony simply nodded before turning back to his computer and typing away. It didn't take long before he looked back up to the screen.

"You're all clear," Tony spoke. "Link."

Natasha walked over to the closest phone she could find and brought it to her ear. She lifted her eyes when she didn't hear anything. She pressed a couple of buttons, but nothing. She dropped the receiver before reaching into her pocket for her cell phone and glanced down to see she didn't have a signal.

Clint couldn't believe what he was looking at. Three fully weaponized helecarriers, AKA Project Insight.

"After New York I convinced the World Security Council we needed a quantum surge security analysis." Fury spoke as he looked up to the carriers. "For once we're way ahead of the curve."

"By holding a gun to everyone's head and calling it protection." Steve stated with a shake of his head and the director accepted the challenge.

"You know, I read those SSR files. Greatest Generation?" Fury said, but Steve didn't bat an eye. "You guys did some nasty stuff."

"Yeah, we compromised, sometimes in ways that made us not sleep so well, but we did it so people could be free." he pointed to the carriers. "That's not freedom, that's fear." The director took a step towards the captain having heard enough.

"SHIELD takes the world as it is, not as we'd like it to be. It's getting damn near past that time for you to get with that program, Cap."

"Don't hold your breath." Steve replied done with this conversation before turning and walking away.

"Do you hold hold the same opinion, Agent Barton?" Fury asked to the surprisingly quiet agent who only stood off to the side during the conversation between him and Steve.

"I get it." Clint replied with a shrug. "We've been surprised way too many times by things far stronger than us. This is a way to even out the playing field."

"You didn't answer my question." The director said before looking up to see another familiar face. "Agent Mason, now's not a good time." Clint turned to see Rick who only glanced over to the man before turning back to the director.

"I think now's the perfect time director. You try using your phone lately?" Rick asked. The director looked over to him confused before pulling out his phone and glancing down to see that he had no signal. His mind instantly went back to the last time that occurred.

"Is it her?" Fury asked looking back over to Rick.

"No sign of her sir, but according to Romanoff the brother's involved." Rick said as both he and Fury turned to Clint. The director was about to speak when suddenly his phone rang. They all looked over to it confused as the director brought it to his ear.

"This is Fury." the director answered. He looked between Rick and Clint before turning and walking from hearing range.

"What the hell is going on Mason?" Clint says turning to Rick. "Where's Matthew?"

"Gone, walked right out the front door after knocking widow on her ass." Rick replied. Clint's eyes widen as he turned slightly. "Looks like his sister taught him more than we know." he shook his head. "And here I was thinking she died a watery death." Clint turned back to Rick who simply closed his eyes and shook his head. "I wasn't supposed to say that." Clint took a step toward the man about to get some answers when the director walked back over.

"It was a glitch." Fury said and they both turned to him. "At least that's what my techs say. There doesn't seem to be any sign of fowl play."

"Director you know as well as anyone that when it comes to Banks—"

"Agent Mason, I said I'll talk to you later." Fury's voice left no room for opposition. Rick simply nodded and walked away.

"Do you have intel on Katie's location?" Clint asked turning to the director who didn't say a word. "You didn't need to grab her." It wasn't question, but a statement of fact. "That night in Paris, you didn't need to because you already had her." Fury let out a tired sigh. Today was just the day people were just going to question all of his decisions apparently. "Where is she?"

"I don't know." Fury replied honestly. Clint shook his head, the disbelief clear on his face. "That's the truth Agent Barton. She somehow intercepted one our communications about a hostage situation with one of our launch ships." Clint turned slightly remembering Natasha's offer for him to come along on that mission. "I assigned Mason to watch her and he took it upon himself to get closer."

"How close?" Clint asked his arms folding over his chest. The director didn't miss the slight menacing look in his eyes as he waited for an answer.

"Close enough for her to believe that he was an ally that she could trust." Fury replied. "That was until he revealed himself aboard the ship and she fled."

"How do runaway on a ship?" Clint asked and the director simply rose an eyebrow in answer. "She jumped off the ship in the middle of the ocean?"

"I have a team scouring the area, but the motorboat that she and Mason arrived on was gone, so right now I'm assuming that's how she escaped." Fury replied.

"Well your assumption is not good enough for me." Clint spat before turning and stalking away.

"Agent Barton!" Fury called, but the man didn't even pause.

Tony stood in his lab impatiently waiting for Matthew to return. He jumped when Jarvis spoke startling him.

"Sir, I have a call for you." Jarvis informed.

"From who?" Tony asked.

"The call is reading as coming from a payphone sir." Jarvis replied. Tony simply stood to his feet before walking over to his cell phone that sat on the table and bringing it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Tony!" a voice squealed followed by a tiny giggled. " _I thought my luck really did suck and I forgot your number. But here you are."_

"Kitten?" Tony spoke. "Are you drunk?"

" _Probably_." Katie replied sitting on a stool inside of a payphone in the corner of a bar. She held the phone with one hand while her other held a mug of beer. " _So, watcha been up to?"_

"I'll tell you, but first tell me where you are." Tony said.

" _Why would I do a silly thing like that?"_ Katie replied before taking a long sip from the mug.

"Because you're drunk in a bar at twelve oclock in the afternoon." Tony said before lifting his head. "Jarvis trace the call."

"Right away sir."

" _You want to save me, huh?"_ Katie asked with another drunken giggle. " _You're always trying to save me Tony. When are you going to realize that I can't be saved?"_

"Everybody can be saved kitten." Tony said grabbing his jacket and heading for the elevator. "Especially you. Now tell me where you are."

" _No_ ," Katie replied with a shake of her head. " _I've ruined your life enough with my craziness and I'm making the decision now to stop."_

"What are you talking about, stop what?" Tony asked stepping onto the elevator.

" _Everything, all of it. This whole vendetta against SHIELD is pointless, because they're bigger and they're smarter and every time I think I'm getting closer they show up and laugh in my face."_ Katie said closing her eyes. " _There's no point in fighting a losing battle when failure is the only outcome."_

"Is that what your dad told you?" Tony asked and the line went silent for a moment.

" _No, that was all me."_ Katie replied. " _Let's not talk about my dad, ok?"_

"Ok, let's talk about where you are right now." Tony said stepping off the elevator and into the main floor of the penthouse.

" _I didn't call you to ask for your help, because I think at this point I'm unable to be helped._ " Katie said. " _I called to say goodbye."_ Tony stopped dead in his tracks.

"You don't say goodbye, because it's final." Tony spoke before lifting his head. "Jarvis!"

"I'm sorry sir, I'm having trouble tracing the call."

"Damnit!" Tony cursed. "Listen Kitten, whatever happened, we'll figure it out. We always figure it out."

" _I have figured it out Tony."_ Katie said. " _This whole time I've been searching for a way to end this when it's been staring me right in my face the whole time. If I want this over, then I end it."_

"By giving up?" Tony asked. "Because that's what this is. This is you coming to a challenge and running away when you can't solve it."

 _"I can't beat them all."_ Katie said her voice growing quiet. He could hear the defeat in her voice. " _Look, take care of my brother, tell him I love more than—"_ the words were too hard to even speak. " _Tell him I love him and you—"_

"Katie," Tony said her name almost pleadingly.

" _Marry Pepper, have lots of babies, and just be happy."_ Katie swallowed the lump in her throat. " _That's all I ever wanted for you."_

"You make me happy." Tony declared and he heard a silent sniffle from the other end of the phone. "What about Barton, did you call him and tell him all of this?"

" _I don't think I could."_ Katie replied. " _He could—"_

"Convince you not to do this, couldn't he?" Tony asked. "So you called me because I couldn't?"

" _This is for the best. You don't see it now, but you will."_

"Katie—"

" _Goodbye Tony."_ Katie whispered before the line went dead.


	4. Chapter 4

Words are sometimes as hard to find as Waldo. Nobody had much of anything to say as they sat in the living room of Tony's DC penthouse. Tony stood staring out the large picture window a glass of bourbon in hand as Matthew sat staring down to the floor. Clint stood off to the side his arms folded over his chest as his head too looked to nothing.

"You must have misheard her," Matthew spoke breaking the silence as he stood to her feet. "If my sister is one thing, she’s stubborn and doesn't just give up and say goodbye."

"Well she did." Tony said before taking another sip from his glass. "Apparently SHIELD knows how to suck the life out of a person." he glanced over to Clint before going to pour himself another drink. "You believe that they don't know where she is?" Clint looked over to see that Tony was talking to him.

"I don't know what to believe." Clint replied running a hand over his face. "A person can only take so much betrayal before it starts to get to them."

"Right, this Rick Mason guy." Tony said holding up his glass in a mock toast. "He just made my list."

"I don't care about shit head SHIELD agents, I care about finding my sister." Matthew said taking a step forward.

"And how do you suggest we do that, huh Mattie?" Tony asked his voice slightly harsher than he intended. "She won't tell us where she is and there's no way to track her, trust me I tried, but if you have some way you think I—" Tony pointed to himself. "Billionaire, genius, smartest person in this room, failed to see, please do tell me."

"Tony calm down." Clint says and Tony turns his glare on the agent. "You're drunk—"

"I'm not drunk Agent Bird Brain, I'm pissed the fuck off, because your agency who you chose over her just took her away from me." Tony said, not thinking of his words before he says them.

"She wasn't yours to take." said Clint as he turned and pressed the button the elevator. "Plus she isn't gone, she's just upset. She'll come back, this isn't over."

"You sound so sure of that." said Tony as he down the contents of his glass in one gulp. "You know something you're not sharing with the rest of the class?"

"No, I just know her." Clint says with a shake of his head as the door finally open. He stepped aside as Pepper walked inside looking between their glum faces.

"Is everything alright?" Pepper asked looking over to Tony who was pouring himself a drink.

"I have to go." Clint says before stalking onto the elevator.

"Wait up!" Matthew said almost running to slip into the elevator as the doors were closing. Pepper kept her eyes on Tony who refused to look at her as he poured his drink and headed back over to the window.

"Tony, you're scaring me, what's going on?" She asked setting her bag down and walking beside him.

"Why are you still with me?" Tony asked unexpectedly and Pepper's seemed taken aback by the question. "I mean sure there's money and the company, but that's not why you're here." he glanced over to her. "What is it?"

"Tony where is this coming from?" Pepper asked tilting her head trying to get a read on the situation. He was upset about something, that much was clear, but she didn't know what. "Did something happen?"

"Just answer the question."

"Ok, I'm here because I love you." Pepper said throwing up her hands in frustration. "Sure you're an insensitive, self absorbed man child ninety five percent of the time, but then there are moments when you're just sweet." she brought her eyes back to him to see him staring at her for a moment before turning back to look out the window.

"So do you think we should get married, or what?" Tony asked and Pepper eyes widened.

"Excuse me?" she asked. "Was that a proposal?"

"That was me asking if you think we should get married." said Tony as he brought the glass to his lips. Pepper watched him for a few moments waiting for a punch line or a gotcha, but neither came verifying her fear that in some sick and twisted way he was serious.

"Are you kidding me, right now?" Pepper asked and Tony turned to look at her. "Do you think we should get married?" she shook her head. "After all these years, that's how you think I deserve to proposed to? Some drunken spur of the moment idea that came to you while staring out the window?"

"It wasn't spur of the moment, I've been thinking about this for a while now and—"

"Well think longer Tony until you find a way to do this that doesn't make you look like an asshole." Pepper snapped before turning on her heels and storming out of the room. Tony went to take another sip only to find his glass empty. In a sudden surge of anger the scientist threw the glass into the wall, letting it smash into pieces.

Katie sat at the bar counter staring into her empty mug before glancing over to the bartender and waving a hand for another round.

"I'm sorry honey, I'm cutting you off." the man said tossing a towel over his shoulder. "You keep this up and you're going to be passed out by the time the crowd starts rolling in and unconscious women aren't a real turn on for folks."

"Speak for your self Lenny!" an old man laughed from the end of the bar sending Katie a wink. The bartender just shook his head before turning back to Katie.

"Go home." he said grabbing the glass from in front of her.

"Hey, I'm came here to get shit wasted out of my mind, to forget about my suck ass life and drink myself into amnesia." She slurred as she stepped off of her stool. "So stop being a pussy and just give me the damn drink!" Katie took a step back tripping over her untied shoe strings and falling back, her head hitting the hard linoleum.

"God dammit!" Lenny grunted peeking over the bar to the unconscious woman. "Not again." he looked over to see the old drunk on the end of the bar stand up. "Don't even think about it Zeke, sit down." the man just grumbled before taking his seat at the bar. Lenny reached under his bar grabbing the phone and bringing it to his ear. "Yeah, I'm going to need an ambulance."

_The loud slam that sounded as she hit the floor seem to mirror the pain she was feeling. Her chest was burning as she tried to breathe normally, but it seemed impossible._

" _Get up!" Martin snapped and Katie looked up to see the man who wore jeans and a white wife beater as he stood almost glaring down to her. "There's no breaks, no time outs, you get knocked down then you get back on your feet."_

" _I can't." Katie muttered defiantly not moving an inch. They'd been going at this for almost an hour since she got back from school and she was getting to her breaking point._

" _I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Martin asked stalking over to tower over her. She lifted her head meeting his eyes before standing to her feet and not letting the gaze waiver. She was tired and she was sore and she had enough._

" _I said I can't!" she snapped. "You're bigger and stronger and will beat me every time, so what's the point?" she turned on her heels about to leave when her father caught her arm and spun her around grabbing her by the shoulders and shoving her back on the ground._

" _The point, light of my life, is that just because you give up doesn't mean I stop trying to hurt you." Martin growl before lifting his leg to kick her, but she rolled away before the contact. "Giving up doesn't ensure safety or happily ever after." he threw another kick, that she quickly jumped away from. "Giving up doesn't mean I'm just going to let you get away." Katie jumped to her feet as a blow came flying toward her, but stopped right in front of her face. Martin dropped his hands to his side. "The point is you never pick a fight you don't believe should be fought. And in the case you think it's a fight worth fighting, you don't walk away because—" he looked at her for the answer._

" _You don't walk away because it's worth fighting." Katie said with nod._

" _Good girl," Martin says before placing a kiss on the top of his daughter's head. "Now go get some water and get back out here. You're getting better whether you know it or not." Katie simply nodded before turning and running into the house._

There was a blinding light that assaulted her eyes out of nowhere and cold fingers touching her face. She tried pushing away whoever was near her, but her movements were too sluggish.

"Miss, can you hear me?" a voice spoke entirely way too loud in Katie's opinion. Katie blinked her eyes looking around a room she didn't remember coming to. "Miss?" a hand touched her shoulder and Katie turned to see a gray haired man in a white lab coat staring down to her. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Where—" Katie rasped her throat was bone dry. The doctor reached over grabbing a cup of water and handing it to her. Katie took it graciously before taking a sip and bringing her eyes back to the man. "Where am I?"

"Medstar Washington Hospital." The doctor replied and Katie closed her eyes letting her head fall back against the pillow. She should've known she would end up back in DC."You were picked up last night at a bar where you got intoxicated, slipped and hit your head. There doesn't seem to be any neurological damage, but there will be a bump." Katie opened her eyes to look over the man. "We searched your things for identification, but came up empty handed. What's your name?"

"I'm-" Katie stopped when she saw someone pass the curtain of her unit. The doctor looked down to her confused before following her eyes to see a commotion happening outside the curtain.

"I'll be right back." The doctor quickly turned to see if he was needed. The moment he was gone Katie sat back on the bed and stared up to the ceiling. She'd stopped by the bar as sort of a last stop before turning herself over to SHIELD once and for all and ending this craziness, but then her father crept back into her head. Katie shook her head before standing from the bed, she paused slightly dizzy at the sudden movement before continuing to find and put on her clothes. She looked inside her bag, everything inside damaged from her unexpected swim, but she tossed the strap over her shoulder anyway. Her baseball cap sat on the dining table in the corner or the room. Placing it on her head, she peeks out of the curtain. Once the coast was clear Katie steps out fully intending to head right out the door. What she didn't expect was to see Steve and Natasha down the hall. Katie quickly dipped down a hall, her back pressed against the wall as she peeks down to see the pair still in a focused discussion.

"Did they find me?" she muttered to herself. Suddenly she noticed a door open and out came Agent Hill who gestured for Natasha and Steve to come inside. "Something's happening." She waited there hoping to get a gleam of what was happening. A few minutes later Steve came walking out of the room, and the look was undeniable sadness. Katie was so tempted to go over there just to see what was happening, but stopped when Hill came walking out of the room over to him. They spoke in hushed tones, both with looks of seriousness past between them. It was when the door to the conjoining room opened and doctors and nurses walked out, their scrubs bloodied, did Katie's heart start to ram in her chest. Now thoughts were swarming in her head at the possibilities of what could be happening. Natasha sulked out the room a look on her face that portrayed an emotion Katie didn't even know the woman possessed. Once the hospital personnel cleared the room, Natasha and Steve walked inside, Hill choosing to stay in the hall. Katie was so focused on what could be happening that she barely noticed the moment Hill's eyes lifted in her direction. Katie quickly slipped back behind the corner, hoping the woman didn't catch sight of her. She noticed what looked like a janitor's closet and ran over to hide inside.

She waited there for what felt like forever before finally emerging from the tiny closet. She walked down the hall, peeking around the corner to see no one recognizable.

"Please be gone." Katie muttered before taking her chances and walking down the hall and finding herself in front of the door she now found herself nervous to go through. She took a shaky breath before reaching down and turning the knob and walking inside. The moment she did she was struck with the sight of Nick Fury lying on a metal table unmoving, nothing covering him but a pale blue sheet. She jumped slightly at the door closing behind her as she stared in bewilderment at the man who lie motionless in front of her. Her eyes scanned the room for a sign that this was some elaborate trick, but there was nothing but him. "You're not dead." she said her voice slightly echoing in the tiny room. She felt stupid the moment the words came flying out of her mouth because the evidence in front of her would beg to differ. Her feet moved sluggishly over to his body until she found herself hovering above him. There was a slight tingling in her fingers and her heart seemed to beat faster than normal. It would seem she was feeling an emotion even she didn't expect at this moment. A warm tear fell down her cheek, and then another... and another. She had no idea why she was crying. If there was anyone she hated on the face of this planet it was Nicholas Fury. He's the reason for her life being torn to shambles, he's the reason she couldn't live a normal life, he's the reason...she has Clint. Her eyes dropped down to the man, her hand moving to touch his shoulder. She froze when she heard the door behind her open and then close.

"I thought that was you." The familiar voice of Maria Hill spoke. "I thought I was going crazy." Katie didn't say anything, not sure what she should say. "He was shot while visiting with Captain Rogers."

"The shooter?" Katie asked.

"Got away." Maria said and Katie turned to her.

"From Steve?" Katie asked knowing that her super soldier friend was a hard one to runaway from. Maria simply nodded and Katie turned back to Fury's body. "SHIELD ID the shooter?"

"Not yet." Maria said walking over to stand beside Katie. "I doubt they will though." Katie turned her head slightly to look over to the woman. "I received a message moments before the director went to see the Captain." Maria pulled out her phone and showed it to Katie. Katie's eyes widen as she read the message, "SHIELD HAS BEEN COMPROMISED" Katie looked up to Maria's eyes.

"Is this a joke?" Katie asked looking around the room as if this still could be some elaborate scheme to capture her.

"No, Ms. Chambers, this is me telling you that I think you were right." Maria replied and Katie turned back to her.

"I still don't understand, what changed his mind?" Katie asked looking over to the director's body as if expecting him to open his eyes.

"I'm not sure, but he found something that made him jump on the Chambers train." said Maria a she looked down to her watch. "I have to take him now."

"Wha-" Katie looked looked over to the woman. "That's it. You tell me this and then you leave?"

"Katie, I just told you that your gut was right, now go find out why." Maria said when there was a sudden knock at the door. Both women turned to see two agents. Maria signaled for them to come inside. Before Katie knew it, the sheet was brought over the director's head and he was rolling out of the room. She didn't move from her spot in the room, her mind now going a mile a minute. Before Maria left she stopped and turned to the woman. "He used to call Coulson his good eye, but do you know what I heard him call you once?"

"No thank you, I've heard some of the things the director has called me and right now isn't the best time to bring back those memories." Katie said snaking off her hat and running a her hand across the back of her head hoping to sooth the soreness.

"I once heard him call you his other good eye." Maria said with a slight smile. Katie looked over just in time to see the Agent turn and leave.

Katie now stood alone in the middle of the room her eyes close as she slowly spun around just... thinking. A mundane task to some, but for Katie there were way too many new pieces to this puzzle. Her eyes snapped open when a sudden thought struck her.

"Why did he go see Steve?" Katie muttered. She slipped her baseball cap back on her head before stalking toward the door slamming into someone almost immediately knocking her off her feet. She fully expected to hit the ground for the second time today, but strong arms quickly wrapped around her waist catching her. Katie lifted her head up to meet familiar green eyes staring back at her.

"Still a clutz, I see." Clint said his hand moving to rest on the side of her face, as his thumb wiped stray tear fell from her eye. Katie stared into his eyes for a moment, her body gradually softening under his touch as she lets herself fall into his arms. She closes her eyes and her head falls to rest on his chest as Clint's arms wrap tightly around her. Both seemed to need this moment more than they knew and for a few moments they were just going to give into it. Katie was the first to pull back, her eyes looking up to Clint's.

"I have to go." Katie said and she could feel his grasp around her tighten. "I have to find Steve, I think Fury may have told him something about why he believed SHIELD had been compromised."

"The director believed SHIELD is compromised?" Clint asked and Katie nodded. "I think I heard that Steve was needed back at HQ. Since he was the last to see the director, they're going to want to question him about what he saw."

"Or what he knows." Katie says before grabbing Clint's hand and pulling him from the room. "If SHIELD's thought process is like ours, they're going to believe that Steve knows something making him a threat." They moved quickly down the hall, but stopped when someone standing in front of a vending machine caught their eye. Natasha stood in front of an opened vending machine holding something in her hand before looking over to see Katie and Clint looking over to her.

"Run out of change Nat?" Clint asked and Natasha looked over to him before her eyes settled on Katie.

"I thought you were dead." Natasha said.

"No you didn't." Katie replied with a roll of her eyes.

"No, I didn't." said Natasha before looking over to Clint. "You two look like you're on a mission, you're not running off to elope are you?"

"No, we're going to find Steve." Katie said. "SHIELD-"

"Has been compromised," Natasha finished looking over to the woman. "I know." The way she said it, made Katie's blood boil. It was as if it weren't a big deal. Katie took a step toward the woman, but Clint held her back.

"Hey, we're all on the same side." Clint said.

"Are we?" Katie asked her eyes never moving from the woman in front of her. "How can you stand there and look like—" Katie shook her head before turning back to Clint. "Let's just find Steve." they moved around Natasha about to continue down the hall.

"I wouldn't leave if I were you." Natasha said and they both turned to her. "Steve should be coming back pretty soon."

"And you know this, how?" Katie asked.

"Because I have this." Natasha says pulling out the flash drive Katie recognized from the launch ship. Katie reached out to grab it, but Natasha pulled it away. "Not going to happen, the director gave this to Steve."

"Then why do you have it?" Katie asked angrily reaching for it again unsuccessfully.

"He hid it before going back to HQ." the woman replied. "He's not that good at hiding things."

"Well since the director didn't give it to you, I would say he didn't trust you to have it." Katie says holding out her hand. "Give it to me." Natasha looked over to Clint.

"You should learn to control your girlfriend." Natasha said before turning and walking away. Katie tried to go after her, but Clint grabbed her and pulled her back to him.

"I don't trust her." Katie says looking up to Clint.

"Yes you do." Clint says glancing around the hall before pulling Katie with him down the hall. "You wish you didn't, but you do."

"God, I do." Katie sighed as she let him pull her. "Where are we going?" Clint led them to a row of seats where he pushed her to sit down. "What are you doing?"

"We're waiting." Clint says taking the seat beside her. "If Nat's right—"

"Big damn "If" there." Katie muttered as she looked down to the vending machine.

"Yeah well if she's right, the captain's going to be coming back for that flash and when he does, we can plan from there." Clint says reaching over and taking Katie's hand in his. She looked down to their hands before looking over to him. Natasha sauntered over taking the seat on the other side of Clint, letting out a loud sigh as she did. Katie removed her hand from Clint's slipping it into her lap as she looks down to the vending machine.

"He get's an hour." Katie says breaking the awkward silence. "He's not back in an hour, I'm going to find my friend." She heard Natasha scoff and turned to see the woman toss a piece of gum into her mouth.

Tony jumped up from his spot on the couch where he had nodded off after his fight with Pepper. He held up his arm in attempt to block out the sun as he sat up stretching his now sore neck. He immediately felt something poking his back, so he reached behind him. His hand felt something small and pulled it out. It was the flash drive Matthew used to plant the bug in Fury's computer.

"Jarvis, is the bug still active in SHIELD's main frame?" Tony asked.

"It would appear so, sir." Jarvis replied.

"Open SHIELD files on Arnim Zola." Tony ordered and soon a holographic image appeared on the table across the room.

"What exactly are you looking for, sir?" Jarvis asked as Tony stood to his feet stretching his sore muscles before walking over.

"What Zola had that SHIELD wanted." Tony replied. With his fingers he flipped through the files until one caught his eye. He was so engulfed in reading that he didn't hear the elevator doors slide open and he didn't hear the foot steps behind him.

"Tony!" Bruce called causing Tony to jump slightly and turned to him. "Where the hell have you been, I've been calling you all morning." Tony simply waved him off and turned back to read the file. "Have you listened to any of your messages?"

"I've been dead to the world for the past couple of hours, so no." Tony answered as he expanded an old picture of Dr. Zola. "And would you keep your voice down?"

"So you don't know?" Bruce asked to Tony who at this point was just barely listening. "Tony, Fury's dead." Tony stopped, lifted his head and turned back to Bruce. "He was murdered." Tony Stark, the man with something to say about everything, had no words.

Matthew walked down the streets of DC, a hood over his head. He couldn't just stay in his apartment anymore. He needed to be doing something to find his sister. Too bad he had no idea exactly how he could help. Tony had the money and the smarts, Barton had the insight track with SHIELD, hell even Banner had connections. He had nothing, no starting point, no idea how he was going to find her. Matthew found himself standing at the edge of the Tidal Basin looking over to the Jefferson Monument.

"Where are you Rinny?" he whispered to himself. He stood there in silence when suddenly the sound of screeching tires caused him to turn around. The next few minutes happened so quickly, that he barely registered what was happening. All he saw was a black van and then large men with guns jump out and grab him. He tried to get a look of their faces. It was one of the few things he remembered Katie taught him. But everything was just moving so damn fast that he only was able to catch a glimpse of one face and before he knew it they were tossing a bag over his head. Matthew felt himself being pulled and pushed until he came into contact with what he guessed was the van's floor. He just remained still as he tried to keep the image of the man with the strange mask in mind. That was the last lucid thought he had before a blow to the back of the head made his entire world dark.

Clint, Katie and Natasha sat impatiently waiting for the return of Steve. The silence was getting uncomfortably awkward, so Clint decided to try filling said silence with small talk.

"Are there any leads on who shot the director?" Clint asked looking over to Natasha who glanced over to him with a look that caught his attention. "Nat?"

"You're not going to believe me." Natasha said turning away from him. "But given the description of this guy and the distance of that shot, I'm thinking its him." she looked over to Clint and gave him a look that answered his question.

"Him?" Katie asked totally lost by the conversation. Natasha let out an annoyed sigh before turning back to look down to her hands. Katie shook her head before looking over to Clint. "Who is she talking about?"

"A myth," Clint says looking over to Katie. "One no one has any definite answers about, but who many around the agency claim they've seen." he glanced over to Natasha who wouldn't meet his gaze. "Including Nat." Katie looked between Natasha and Clint waiting for one of them to answer the big question.

"Does this phantom myth have a name?" Katie asked.

"Yeah," Clint says looking over to her. "They call him the Winter Soldier."


	5. Chapter 5

Tick...Tock...Tick. The sound of a clock ticking was the audible sound of the grains of sand sifting through an hour glass. Each tick was a second lost, never to be seen again. Katie stared up to the wall clock watching second after second pass. A whole forty five minutes had passed and there was still no sign of Steve. Her mind instantly went to the dark places. The places where every worst possible outcome was happening.

"What were you doing here?" Natasha asked breaking their awkward silence as she leaned forward to get a look at Katie. "It's awfully coincidental that you just appear in the hospital the day the director was brought in."

"Not really," Katie says holding up her wrist to reveal her hospital wrist band. "Just shitty luck that seems to follow me wherever I go." Clint grabbed her wrist to look at the band before bringing his eyes to Katie.

"You were admitted?" Clint asked his voice edging on concern, but trying not to react too quickly.

"I was on my way back to turn myself over to Lucifer so I stopped, and decided that I needed to get wasted. I drank a lot of alcohol, tripped and knocked myself out, when I woke up I was here." Katie said not missing the slight snort from the assassin on the end.

"Well are you ok?" Clint asked and Katie nodded.

"I'm fine," Katie replied pulling her wrist from his grasp. "Just a bump on the head." she turned back up to the clock. "This is getting ridiculous, something is wrong." she stood to her feet, but Clint grabbed her arm.

"You think waltzing into SHIELD is not going to help anyone right now?" asked Clint. "Right now we have to work with the idea that the Captain can take care of himself if he needs to."

"And it would seem that he can." Natasha said standing to her feet as they all turned to see a hooded man walking down the hall, his head down. They all took a step forward, but Natasha stopped and turned to them. "How about I go in solo on this one. All of us going over there asking him questions, might get a little suspicious."

"You going over there at all will look suspicious." Katie replied folding her arms over her chest. "There's no telling what happened when he went back to HQ and I don't think the first person he needs to see is bitch warrior princess."

"Too bad this isn't up for a vote." Natasha said glancing over to Clint before turning and heading down the hall. Katie made to follow, but Clint grabbed her and pulled her back.

"What are you doing?" Katie asked turning to Clint. "Every word out of her mouth is either a lie or a lie, and if we're going to figure this out, she can't be the central point of information."

"Whether you like it or not, she is." Clint replied. "It's what makes her good at what she does. She finds the secrets and keeps them under lock and key until its necessary to let them out." Katie let out an annoyed growl as she walked around Clint snatching her cap off of her head, and trying her best to sooth the throbbing bump on the back of her head. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She muttered not turning to him. She did turn slightly just in time to see Steve pull Natasha into a darkened corner. "Now what?"

"We let her do what she does best." Clint says and Katie simply shakes her head before turning away once again. He stood there staring at her back, words on the tip of his tongue threatening to come flying out. It was just too much to hold in and so he decided to just let it out. "What do you want from me?" Katie whipped around to him with a look of confusion. That question just came out of nowhere. "Do you want an apology, because I'll give it to you. Do you want me to say that I was wrong and my plan was stupid, hey I'll say that too." He took a firm step forward so she could see the seriousness in his eyes. "Just tell me what I have to do to make this better, to make us better." Katie closed her eyes dropping her head. This wasn't the time for this. There was just way more important things to focus on and right now their relationship wasn't at the top of the list. "Kat—"

"Stop," Katie said opening her eyes and looking back to him. "Just stop talking and listen." Katie took a step close enough that they touched with every breath they took. "I love you and—" She wanted to turn and run away from this situation and all of these emotions she didn't want to feel. "And a year and a half ago you left. Intentions be damned, you left me and I never—" she clenched her fist trying to will the words she just wanted to bottle up, but they weren't stopping. They needed to be said and so she was going to say them. "You left and I was empty. I'm still-" she shook her head. "There's nothing you can do to make this better because I'm not sure it can. I'm the one who has to learn to look at you and not go back to that moment." she looked over his shoulder to see Steve and Natasha walking in their direction.

"I'm glad to see you're alive." Steve says looking over to Katie.

"Ditto," Katie replied. "I'm taking it they didn't welcome you with open arms." Steve let out a long sigh as he glanced over his shoulder.

"You could say that." The Captain replied turning back to Katie. "We should move."

"And where are we going?" Clint asked and Steve looked to Katie. Both Natasha and Clint followed his eyes. "Am I missing something?" Steve reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver flash drive.

"The director came to see me last night and he gave me this." Steve said looking down to the flash. "Apparently it goes into a computer." he glanced back over to Katie. "He told me to find our computer lady." Steve held out the flash to Katie who looked almost hesitant. "There's answers here Katie, and we need you to find them."

"Need's a strong word." Natasha muttered gaining a glare from the lab tech. "Can we get a move on, it won't be long before we're found here." They all turned to Katie who took the flash from his hand.

"We're going to need a computer." Katie said looking down to the drive. "Some place big and—" a smile came to her lips as she looked back up. "C'mon, I know a place." she turned and walked away, her friends right behind her.

Bruce stood watching as Tony's eyes glazed over at the news of Fury's death. He was unsure if he should say anything else, but the image on the holograph behind Tony caught his attention.

"What were you doing?" Bruce asked and Tony glanced over to him before turning back to the hologram.

"I have the files on Arnim Zola." Tony says. "I was actually looking forward to throwing it Fury's face, but looks like that's gone straight out the window." Tony looked over to Bruce. "Is there a suspect?"

"No idea, I got a call from Steve, but he didn't say much." Bruce sighed walking over to glance over to the hologram. "It did get me to thinking though. What if all of this is connected?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean Paris, and Heisenberg, Fury's death." Bruce brought his eyes back to Tony. "Katie."

"You think Katie killed Fury?" asked Tony, the disbelief in his tone obvious.

"No, I am saying that they all have one common denominator and it's her." Bruce replied. Tony simply shook his head before walking away. "You can't tell me you don't see it?"

"You do know there's another option here." Tony says glancing over to Bruce. "She could be right"

"You mean SHIELD being corrupted?" Bruce asked and Tony nodded. Bruce rubbed his eyes before looking back to Tony. "It's a possibility, but right now we know nothing."

"That's not true." Tony said before pointing to the hologram. "Katie contacted us, told us that SHIELD was using the research of Arnim Zola." Bruce turned to the hologram and read through the files. "I think they're using his algorithm to predict future threats."

"How does that make them corrupt?" Bruce asked looking over to Tony. "I mean after everything that's happened, being able to stop some of these bastards before they could act could be a good thing."

"Depending on whose deciding what's a threat." Tony said walking beside Bruce.

"How did you get access to this?" Bruce asked looking down to the files as Tony expanded Zola's equations.

"Matthew may have gone to SHIELD and downloaded this from the director's computer." Tony replied nonchalantly as he focused on the equation.

"I'm sorry, did you just—" Bruce looked around the penthouse. "Wait, where is Matthew?" Tony lifted his head and looked over to Bruce.

"Probably asleep?"

"It's two oclock in the afternoon." Bruce replied and that perked up Tony's ears. Matthew was an early bird, always up before everyone doing something.

"Jarvis, is Matt in the building?" Tony asked.

"I'm afraid not sir.”Jarvis informed. "Mr. Banks left early this morning and has not returned." Bruce and Tony shared a look.

"Jarvis, call Matthew now." Tony ordered.

"Right away sir." Jarvis replied. Tony and Bruce stood there waiting impatiently. "I'm sorry sir, Mr. Banks did not answer."

"Damn it Mattie!" Tony snapped turning back to the hologram. He slid Zola's files away and brought up what looked like a map. "Jarvis, give me Matt's last location" Soon a tiny dot appeared on the map.

"The last know signal of Mr. Bank's phone places him near the Tidal Basin." Jarvis said. "After five minutes the signal disappears." Tony turned back to Bruce who stood there wordlessly.

"We don't know if anything is even wrong." Bruce said trying to put his friend's mind at ease, but even he wasn't too sure of his words. "He's worried about his sister and—"

"He doesn't turn off his cell phone." Tony interrupted turning back to the map. "He's had the same number for years and he doesn't turn it off in case Katie calls him. Something's wrong." Tony stopped what he was doing and turned to Bruce with wide eyes. "She's going to kill me."

The mall was a very unexpected destination. That's the thought Clint had as he, Natasha and Steve followed behind Katie into the crowded shopping center. He kept his hood over his head hoping to hide from any camera that may be recording at the moment. Natasha too wore a hooded jacket, while Steve decided on wearing a baseball cap and a pair of glasses as a disguise.

"Ok, Bart, Romanoff you're going to be our eyes." Katie said over her shoulder, her baseball cap pulled firmly to hide her face as well. "Bart takes the upper level and Natasha sticks down here."

"Since when do you give the orders?" Natasha asked walking beside her.

"Fine, then how about we do this," Steve said moving to stand between the women in hopes of preventing any outbreak of violence that always seemed to be on the brink when they were together. "Natasha and Barton keep and eye out. Barton up high and Natasha down low while me and Katie go find this computer." Steve looked between their faces for any objections. Natasha simply rolled her eyes before breaking away from the group to her post.

"Thank you for that." Katie said looking over to Steve as they stepped onto the escalator.

"So you sure you can decrypt that thing?" Steve asked his eyes instinctively scanning over the mall and it's patrons.

"Well at the moment, Kat's our best bet." Clint said also keeping a watchful eye out. The moment they stepped off the elevator Katie turned down one way, Steve about to follow, but Clint caught his arm.

"If we get separated—"

"I'll look after her," Steve said with a slight nod. He recognized the look in the archer's eyes and knew that at this point separating from Katie was the last thing he wanted to do. "I promise." Clint nodded before glancing over to Katie who stood waiting. Their eyes met for a brief moment, both sending the other a silent message neither would say with words before Clint turned and walked off to his own post.

"Everything alright?" Katie asked when Steve walked over to her.

"Yeah," Steve said looking up to the Apple sign above their heads. "Where are we?"

"Some would say a computer store," Katie says as she looks inside the Apple store. "Me, I would say it's a little piece of heaven on earth. Never tell Tony I said that." She grabbed his arm and pulled him inside. They walked over to an empty laptop. "All SHIELD drivers have level six homing programs as a security measure." Katie begins typing away on the computer while Steve's eye keep watch. "So as soon as I get this booted it up, SHIELD will know exactly where we are."

"How much time will we have?" Steve asks.

"About nine minutes from..." Katie inserts the flash into the side of the laptop, a small beep signaling it's start. "Now." Steve looked over to Katie whose fingers seemed to take on a life of their own as she typed. He had absolutely no idea what she was doing, but she seemed to be doing it effortlessly. "Shit." or so he thought.

"What's wrong?" Steve asked.

"No, I think I was right to look into that ship, I mean someone was obviously trying to hide something." Katie said her fingers never stopping. "The drive is protected by some kind of AI, it keeps—" a smile formed on Katie's lips and her fingers finally stopped.

"What?"

"At every point of a attack, it rewrites itself." Katie says the smile never wavering. "Such pricks, I think I found out why they wanted Tony's firewall."

"Can you override it?" Steve asked and Katie simply tilted her head as she looked at the code that appeared on the screen. It wasn't quite the same as Tony's, but the basis seemed to be mirrored after Tony's code exactly. "Katie can—" Katie held up a hand for him to stop talking, before her fingers once again started typing.

"Whoever did this is like seriously good, I mean if I were anyone but me, this might be hard." Katie says. "But since I am me..." Her fingers typed furiously and Steve simply watched in amazement. He glanced down to his watch, they were running out of time.

"Katie?"

"You start barking numbers at me Captain and I am going to hit you." Katie says not sparing the man a glance. "These things take time."

"Guess what we don't have?" Steve asked gaining a side glance from the woman. "Can you do this or not?" Katie stopped typing and rubbed the back of her head, the soreness from her fall still there. "Katie?"

"A little more time and I could decrypt this thing in ten different languages, but since the clock is running out, I'm going to have to trace it." Katie says bringing her fingers back to the keys. "Since we can't read the file, maybe I can find out where it was created." Katie was busy typing away when an Apple employee walked over to them.

"Can I help you guys with anything?" he ask and both Katie and Steve turned to him smiles appearing on their faces.

"Oh, no, my brother and I were just looking into a place that we should take the family for our big family reunion." Katie says sending a smile up to Steve.

"Yeah, family reunion, with...our family." Steve says and Katie just sends him a confused look before looking back over to the employee.

"Naturally," the man says with a nod. "So where are you guys thinking of having this shindig?"

"Uh—" Steve looks back to the computer and says the first word he sees. "New Jersey." They both look over to the employee who seems a bit put off by that statement, but doesn't say anything about it. His eyes suddenly go to Steve as if he recognizes him. Katie mentally cursed because she had a feeling those glasses weren't going to hide his true identity.

"You know I have those exact same glasses." The man says.

"Wow," Katie says turning back to the laptop. "You two are practically twins." Steve didn't miss the sarcasm, but it seemed to go right over the employee’s head as he smiled over to Steve.

"Oh, I wish," he said before gesturing to Steve. "Specimen." Steve looked slightly confused and uncomfortable with the situation. The employee must have caught on. "Uh, if you guys need anything, I've been Aaron." Steve just nodded and watched as the man turned and walked away.

"Family reunion?" Steve muttered.

"What did you want me to say, that you were my fiance and that we were searching for honeymoon destinations?" Katie asked. "I'm a method actor Captain, there would be grabbing and touching that I'm not sure you would be comfortable with it." Steve simply chose to ignore her as he leaned into to read the computer. "I would've made you blush my friend."

"The signal is coming from Wheaton, New Jersey." Steve says looking over to Katie.

"You know it?" Katie asks.

"I used to," Says Steve before snatching the flash from the computer. "Let's go." he grabs Katie's hand and pulls her out of the store.

"I know it's been a while Steve, but I think you should know I don't like being man handled." Katie said snatching her hand away as they stopped outside of the door. Steve didn't say anything and Katie followed his eyes over to Clint who was signaling to the lower level of the mall. 

"They found us." Steve says before giving Clint a nod before grabbing Katie's hand and once again pulling her with him.

"Steve, where's Bart going?" Katie asks as they sifted through the crowd. "Why isn't he coming with us?" She looked back to see that Clint had disappeared in to the crowd.

"Because right now the last thing that can happen is us getting caught." Steve says looking back to Katie. "Even if that means separating." Katie looked to him and just nodded. They began walking when Katie spotted two SHIELD agents.

"Standard tag team," she kept her eyes on the agents. "Two behind, two across and two coming straight for us." She always wondered what was it with SHIELD and only pairing their agents in twos.

"Spot on." Steve says glancing over to them as well. "I'll engage, you hit the south escalator and and then the metro before—"

"Shut up," Katie says before wrapping her arm around Steve. "Just look at me and laugh." they were nearing the agents. "Now." both erupted into a fit of laughter as they walked past the agents, only glancing back to make sure they weren't made. Katie dropped her hand from behind his back and they kept walking.

"That was good thinking." Steve said as they headed for the escalator.

"Yeah, well I've had lots of practice with hiding from SHIELD." Katie says as their feet touch the escalator. "We have two more." Steve looks to the dark clothed men who are on the adjacent escalator. "Remember what I said about being a method actor?" Katie whispered and Steve quirked an eyebrow in confusion. "Put your arms around me." Steve didn't move and so Katie grabbed his hands and brought them around his waist, and before he knew what was happening Katie had wrapped her arms around him bringing him into kiss. It lasted only a few moments and they pulled apart when they knew that they were in the clear. Steve looked down to Katie, his cheeks burning a slight hint of red as he looked to the woman.

"Was that necessary?" Steve asked as they stepped off of the escalator.

"Public displays of affection," Natasha voice spoke appearing along side of them as they continue their trek for the exit. "They make people uncomfortable."

"Yes they do." Steve says bringing his hands to his lips before quickly dropping it.

"It probably just saved both your asses." Natasha says as they push through the glanced over to Katie who hadn't said anything. "I wonder where you learned that?" Katie simply glanced over to the woman and rolling her eyes. They hadn't walked far before Katie stopped.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked turning to her. "We have to keep moving."

"Then go, you have the next piece of the puzzle," Katie replies turning back to the mall. "I can't just leave him in there."

"In all the years that you've know him, what would let you believe that he would let himself get caught in a mall, by Rumlow no less?" Natasha said and Katie knew she was right. It still didn't make her feet moving that much easier. "Did you find what we were looking for?"

"No, the flash is it's own lock and key." Katie replies. "I would've needed more time to decrypt it."

"What, super-nerd couldn't get it up?" Natasha asked sarcastically. "I have to say that makes me feel all fuzzy on the inside."

"That's impossible," Katie replies glancing over to the woman. "There's nothing inside of you but bullshit and a black hole of nothingness. I wasn't able to decrypt the flash, but I was able to trace it back to its origin, that's where we're headed now, once we get some wheels that is."

"I'll take care of that." Steve replied and both women stopped and looked over as he walked away into the parking lot of the mall.

"He's not about to do what I think he's about to do, is he?" Katie muttered over to Natasha.

"I think he is." Natasha replied as both women watch as Captain America himself steal a car. It was like watching Santa Claus stealing candy from a baby.

Finding a way out of the mall wasn't as difficult as it would seem. For Clint anyways. He found a way out, bypassing all agents, before leaving right out the front door. Despite his better judgment, instead of continuing to move, Clint stopped and let his eyes scan the parking lot for her face. He knew that there was a chance that they would be separated, but he was hoping that it wouldn't be this soon. After a few moments, he realized that she was probably gone and so it was time for him to do the same. After "borrowing" a ride of his own, he tried to think of a place he could go and only one place came to mind.

That's how Clint ended up back at Tony's penthouse. It was the only place he knew that wasn't under SHIELD'S control and still had enough security to warn them of any danger. He rode the elevator, a small part of him wanting to just turn around, but he couldn't. The doors slid open and that's when he spotted Bruce and Tony, both turning to him as he stepped into the apartment.

"Good," Bruce said walking over to the man. "Where is he?"

"Where is who?" Clint asked looking between the two men.

"You don't know where Matthew is, do you?" Tony asked and the confused look in Clint's eyes was answer enough.

"Wait, Matthew's missing?" Clint asked and both Tony and Bruce nodded. Clint ran a hand through his hair. "Wait, wait, he's a grown man, I mean he's probably off blowing off some steam right?"

"It's possible," Bruce said looking over to Tony. "We shouldn't automatically assume the worst."

"Well when those assumptions have been right, I tend to lean toward them more often." Tony replied turning to Clint. "What's going on back at the farm now that Fury's—" it was still hard to say. Not that Tony was overly fond of the director, but it seemed his passing was affecting him in ways he didn't expect. "Now that he's gone."

"No idea," Clint replied and he knew from the looks that he got, coming clean was the only option. "Look, you're not going to believe this, but I think Katie was on the right track. There's something going on with SHIELD that's not right, and I think all of this maybe proof of that."

"So you're saying you believe that SHIELD has been corrupted?" asked a still skeptical Bruce. Clint nodded in response. "And you have proof?"

"Not yet, but they're working on it." Clint stated.

"When you say they...?" asked Tony and Clint simply gave him a knowing look. "She's back, isn't she?"

"Yeah, and right now she's with Nat and the Captain trying to find out what SHIELD's hiding." Clint replied.

"So what do we do now?" Bruce asked and the three men stood in silence as they all tried coming up with an answer to that question.

"Look adult or not, Matthew is my responsibility," Tony spoke. "I need to find out where he is, and part of that means making sure he's not being used as some sort of bargaining chip."

"You think it's possible that SHIELD has him?" Bruce asked.

"Well," Tony said looking over to Clint. "Let's ask employee of the month here. Is that a move SHIELD would make?" Clint thought and he didn't like the answer to the question. "I'm going to take your silence as a yes." And with that Tony turned and headed for his bedroom.

"Where are you going?!" Bruce called after him.

"To get changed, and then we're heading into enemy territory!" Tony called over his shoulder. Bruce looked over to Clint who seemed to be thinking hard.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just if Tony's right, if SHIELD does have Matthew and plan on using him to get to Kat, I'm—" he let out a sigh. "I'm afraid this may be one move SHIELD may not want to make. I mean you've seen Kat when she's helping, trying to fight the good fight, but you cross her and she shows another side."

"I have the feeling that I should step away from this situation, just to keep the other guy in check." Bruce said pulling off his glass and rubbing his eyes before looking back over to Clint.

"But you're going anyway."

"I've grown strangely fond of Matt," Bruce said with a slight smile. "Even if he is the most annoying person I've ever met, he still a friend. I'll just try my hardest not to get too excited."

"Good luck with that." Clint replied.

Katie sat in the backseat of the stolen vehicle staring out the window, not paying attention to the conversation between Steve and Natasha. The only word she could think of to describe how she was feeling was strange. She knew that there was something going on at SHIELD, and she knew that it wasn't good. Though, there was a small part of her that wanted to be wrong. She too had hope that there could be an entity out there whose sole purpose was to protect the world. SHIELD was that hope. Or at least they were. Katie eyes found themselves drifting closed when a voice seemed to put an end to that.

"Sparrow!" a voice called and her eyes snapped open to see Natasha staring back to her. "No sleeping on the job. We need you to talk, tell us what you know about that ship."

"Not much," Katie replied sitting up a bit in her seat. "I implanted a tracking bug in SHIELD's database which is how I've been able to access so much information. The launch ship appeared in a few places, but more times from one person."

"And who is that?" Steve asked.

"Alexander Pierce, the man whose connected to all of this, but I have absolutely no idea how." Katie replied running her hand over the back of her head. "Hopefully we find some answers in Jersey." she shook her head and turned back to look out the window.

"Hey," Steve spoke and Katie glanced back to see him glancing to her through the rear view mirror. "I'm sorry I didn't—"

"Steve stop," Katie said with a slight shake of her head. "You don't have to apologize. I was telling you the sky was falling, of course you weren't going to take my word for it."

"I should've at least heard you out." Steve replied before looking over to Natasha. "I mean after everything we've witnessed, we all should've given you the benefit of the doubt and for that I'm sorry." He still looked over to Natasha expecting her to corroborate, but she simply turned to look out the window. "I'm fifty percent sure Natasha feels the same way."

"And I'm ninety nine percent sure those words will never pass through her lips." Katie said with a smirk before letting her eyes drift close again.

"Where have you been?" Natasha spoke and once again Katie's eyes snapped open. "A year and a half is a long time."

"I've been a couple of places." Katie replied looking over to the woman. "You've never been this interested in anything concerning me, like ever. What's the deal?"

"She's trying to keep you awake until we know you don't have concussion." Steve said glancing over to Natasha who simply turned away deciding not to dignify that statement with a reply.

"Well studies show that there is no added benefit to staying awake after a blow to the head." Katie replies closing her eyes and leaning her head back. "In fact doctors believe rest can speed along the healing process."

"Well I guess someone with as many blows to the head as you would know." Natasha muttered and Katie let out an unflattering snort.

"That was actually a good one." Katie sighed as she tried her best at getting some rest.

Bruce and Tony were the ones who went in through the front door. Clint stayed back at the penthouse just in case he popped up on any cameras from the mall. He knew that if SHIELD was truly compromised then he wouldn't be walking out of there.

"Let me do all the talking." Tony says as he slips off his sunglasses and strolls to the check in desk, skipping the line of people waiting.

"Sir," the agents said looking over to Tony. "There's a line."

"Oh—" Tony says glancing back to the people. "There is...huh," he turns back to the agent. "Right, so back to why we're here I need to speak with who’s ever in charge now."

"Sir—"

"You can sir me all you want, I'm not going anywhere until I see the new big cheese in charge." Tony said. The agent looked over to his partner who let out a long sigh before picking up the phone. Tony watched the man make the call. After a few muttered words, the agent finally hung up the phone and looked back up to Tony.

" Agent Pierce will see you now." The agent said.

"Pierce?" Tony said glancing over to Bruce who shared the same look of suspicion. Tony turned back to the agent and nodded before nudging his head for Bruce to come with him. The moment they stepped onto the elevator and the doors slid closed, Tony turned to Bruce about to say something, but Bruce simply held up a hand to stop him.

"I know." Bruce said already knowing what the man was about to say.

"But Pierce—"

"Tony, I know." Bruce said glancing over to him. "Right now is not the time to talk about this."

"Right." Tony said with a nod before turning back to the doors.

They walked over to Pierce's assistant's desk just as the woman stood to her feet.

"Mr. Stark, Dr. Banner, Agent Pierce is in his office." Trudy said before leading them into the office. Pierce typed something on his computer before standing to his feet.

"Mr. Stark, Dr. Banner, I have to say this isn't the best time as you could assume." Pierce said pointing to the seats in front of his desk. "We're all a bit shell shocked trying to figure out what's going to happen without the director."

"You seem to have taken the reigns." Tony said crossing the room to stand in front of the desk. Bruce chose to stay near the door, his arms folded over his chest.

"Well someone has to and the council thought I was the best for the job." replied Pierce. "I know you're probably wondering what all of this means for you and your team, but the council hasn't decided on what to do with the Avenger's initiative yet, but the moment they do, I will let you know."

"That's not why we're here." Tony said picking up a picture of Pierce and his daughter that sat on Pierce's desk.

"Then why are you here Mr. Stark?" Pierce replied before reaching out and taking the picture and placing it back on his desk. "If you don't mind me asking." Pierce glanced over to Bruce who hadn't said a word, but who seemed to be keeping a close eye on him.

"I don't mind at all." Tony said. "Matthew Banks, he's missing and I think you know where he is."

"Why would you think that?" Pierce asked.

"Well because this—" Tony reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone and turned the screen toward the agent. Pierce looked down to see something he believed could only be access internally at SHIELD. It was a picture of Steve and Katie, with the words " _WANTED DOA"_ underneath. "This is being circulated throughout this building." Tony turns the phone to look down to the screen. "I'm still trying to figure out why the Captain is now at the top of your most wanted list." he shook his head before looking back over to Pierce. "I don't think I've heard the man curse." he looked over to Bruce. "Have you?" Bruce simply shook his head before Tony turned back to Pierce. "So you can see why I think this is a little strange."

"It is believed that Captain Rogers is withholding information about Director Fury's death and is refusing to turn over the information." Pierce replied. "Around here, Mr. Stark, we call that the sign of a compromised agent. We also have proof that he has been seen conversing with Ms. Banks, a known SHIELD traitor."

"Why is she a traitor again?" Tony asked tilting his head with a quirked eyebrow. "I mean she hasn't killed anyone, or sold any secrets. The only thing she's done is question the moves being made around here."

"You're too emotionally involved with this woman to look at this objectively Mr. Stark, which is why your input into this investigation is not needed." Pierce replied before picking up his tablet and shuffling through a few files. "I have no idea where this Matthew Banks person is, so if you wouldn't mind I'm very busy." he glanced up to Tony who hadn't moved. "That was my polite way of saying get the hell out of my office Stark." Tony smirked before giving the man a nod and turning and walking over to Bruce. Tony nudged his head to the door expecting Bruce to follow him out, but instead the doctor walked over to place himself in front of Pierce's desk. The movement visibly shaken the agent who took a slight step back.

"You're lying, I know you're lying, and Tony knows you're lying." Bruce said getting no response from Pierce. "You have him and I think you should know that if this is some big elaborate scheme to hurt Katie, or to stop the truth from coming out, it won't work." Bruce placed a hand on the desk before pulling his glasses off with the other. "I have no doubt that she won't let it work and I happen to know for a fact that me or the other guy won't let it work. So Pierce be smart, we're enemies you can not afford to have. Matthew has nothing to do with anything that's happening here, so just let him go."

"I'm sorry doctor," Pierce said before clearing his throat. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Bruce simply shook his head before sliding back on his glasses.

"Have it your way." Bruce replied before turning and walking out with Tony.

"You're alright there, big man?" asked Tony noticing the slight color change in his friend's skin. He gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Calm down, I already have the next move." They walked on to the elevator and the moment the doors closed Tony brought his cell phone to his ear. "JARVIS, I want you to dissect all of SHIELD's files, gut it like a fish, every database and if you come to a locked door, use my kitten's key and knock it down." Tony ended the called before looking back over to Bruce who still seemed to be taking deep breaths. "I told you to let me do the talking."

"Well you weren't saying enough." replied Bruce giving a sideways glance over to Tony.

The moment Tony and Bruce left Pierce's office, the agent sat back down behind his desk and pull out his cell phone. He pressed one speed dialed button before bringing it to his ear.

"Yeah, this is Pierce," Pierce said glancing over to the door. "How's our guest?"

The Winter Soldier stood staring down to the unconscious body of Matthew Banks on the floor of the dim lit, dank room.

"He's sleeping." The Winter Soldier says as he looks down to his bloodied knuckles with a smirk.


	6. Chapter 6

Katie always thought it was strange how emotions could make themselves manifest physically of their own accord. She tried sleeping, but it seemed her mind wanted to stay awake. When they finally made it to Jersey for some reason she got nervous. They were moments away from possibly finding out what SHIELD was hiding and she was nervous. Her mind went to all the possibilities and none of them put her at ease.

The moment they pulled up in front of the camp, everything seemed to get quiet. No one said a word as they stepped out of the truck and walked toward the gated building. Katie glanced over to Steve who couldn't tear his eyes away from the dilapidated building, his shield gripped tight in his hand. She figured that seeing this place, seeing where it all started for him must have been strange.

"How you doing Steve?" Katie asked walking along side of him.

"It's still a little strange," Steve said looking up to the building. "I remember being here like it was yesterday, but here it is ninety years later." he looks back down to Katie. "I guess I will always be a man out of time."

"The file came from these coordinates?" Natasha asked looking back to Steve and Katie.

"Yeah," Steve replied with a nod as he looked back up to the building. "So did I."

"So, how are we going to get on the other side?" Katie asked looking to the tall gate. Both Steve and Natasha look back at her as if it were obvious. When she finally did catch on she turned back to the fence and let out a sigh.

"Don't worry," Natasha said walked up to the gate and beginning to climb. "If you fall, I'm sure you'll die on impact."

"Thanks for those reassuring words." Katie said walking over to the fence.

"Don't worry, I'll be right behind you." Steve said and Katie gave him a nod.

"Just don't get distracted by the asses and I'm sure I'll make it over this fence alive." Katie said as she began climbing the fence. Steve stood there a moment a little shocked by her words before shaking it off and climbing the fence. He found himself trying not to look above him as he did.

The camp was big, and they soon found themselves losing daylight as they searched for whatever they should be finding.

"This is a dead end." Natasha said holding up her cell phone looking for any sign of life the could've been here. "Zero heat signatures, zero waves, not even radio." she looked over to Katie. "Whoever made the file must have made a router to throw people off."

"Possible." Katie replied letting her eyes scan over the camp.

"Or you got it wrong," Natasha said and Katie turned to the woman. "Which is also possible, seeing as you did suffer a head injury recently."

"Natasha—" Steve said his tone full of warning.

"What is your problem?" Katie asked angrily as she stalked toward the woman. "I have done nothing but try to make sense of all of this and all you seem to want to do is bitch and throw around these snide remarks."

"Guys can we not do this now." Steve said walking between the two women. "I get we're all a little tired and frustrated, but—" Steve eyes caught something that shouldn't be. "That's not suppose to be there." without further explanation the man just walks off. Katie and Natasha share a look before following after him.

"Mind sharing with the rest of the class, Steve?" Katie asked as they walked over to one of the buildings.

"Army regulations forbid the storing of munitions within five hundred yards from the barracks." Steve said. "This building is in the wrong place." They walked to the door all searching for a way to open it, when suddenly Steve sent his shield into the lock.

"Who needs a key anymore." Katie muttered as Steve pushed open the door. They walked down stairs, not able to see anything in the darkness. Once they stepped off the last step, they just stood for a moment before Steve found a light switch. The lights flickered on and their eyes went straight for the emblem painted on the wall in front of them.

"This is SHIELD." Natasha said out loud.

"No," Katie replied sarcastically. "What was your first clue?" Natasha turned a glare to the woman.

"Hey, can we focus!?" Steve intervened once again. He had the feeling he was going to be doing this a lot. "Let's just look around." And so they began to search the ancient bunker.

"This must be where SHIELD started." Katie said walking up to the emblem on the wall. She shook her head before turning spotting a door. She walked over, Steve and Natasha behind her in to a room. They all stopped and looked up to the pictures that hung on the wall.

"Hey, is that—" Katie looked back to Natasha and Steve.

"Stark's father." Natasha replied.

"Howard." Steve said looking to the picture before looking to the one of the woman beside it.

"Who's the girl?" Natasha asked. Steve simply looked at the picture before turning and walking away.

"Agent Margaret Carter." Katie whispered turning to the one. "But everyone called her Peggy." A look of realization hit Natasha as she glanced over to Steve.

"Wait, how did you know that?" Natasha asked looking back to Katie.

"Hey, you guys gave me the key to all your important files and thought I wouldn't look." Katie replied with a shake of her head before walking over to see what Steve was doing. Katie looked over his shoulder to see wind blowing from behind a book case.

"If you're already working in a secret office..." Steve said before reaching out a hand and pushing the book case to reveal something hidden. "Why do you need to hide the elevator?"

"Maybe not everyone had secret elevator agent status." Katie said looking to the elevator. "Can I get some light here?" Natasha pulled out her cell phone and shined it on the lock key pad. "It's old."

"Can you crack it?" Steve asked and both Katie and Natasha looked over to him. "What?"

"Don't say crack." Katie said with a slight shake of her head before turning to Natasha. "May I?" Natasha begrudgingly places her cell phone in Katie's hand. "So SHIELD phones are tricked with some very cool shit—" she looked over Steve. "Sorry for my language Captain, I mean some nifty doodads." she looked back down to the phone as she began typing away. "But they had their limitations, which is why my bright ideas, when it came to them, was welcomed with open arms. Some I started, and didn't quite finish." she turned the phone to the key pad and they all watched as the phone seemed to scan for fingerprints finding the patterned type. Once it found the correct code, Katie reached out and entered the code and soon the doors were sliding open. They all stepped on in silence and once the doors slid closed they felt the elevator move.

"You know you could've just done that without the whole back story." Natasha said and Katie glanced over to her. "It was unnecessary and a waste of time."

"Well your face is unnecessary and a waste of time, but do you hear me complaining?" Katie asked.

"Guys!" Steve snapped once again coming between the women. "This stops now. We're a team and that means the bickering and petty insults stop right now." Both women continue to stare at one another before turning to Steve. "I don't know what this is about, but right now we have bigger problems, so how about whatever issues you two have we put them on the back burner, got it?"

"Got it." Katie muttered glancing over to Natasha before turning to face the doors.

"Got it." Natasha replied turning away as well.

"Good." Steve said letting out a tired sigh. The elevator ride was once again silent, until they felt the elevator stop and the doors slide open.

"More dark rooms." Katie muttered as they walked inside. The moment they walked further inside lights flickered on and it seemed that they stepped through time as they looked to the ancient looking equipment. "psychedelic." Katie walked over to the one of the computers.

"This can't be the data point," Natasha said walking over as well and glancing around the room. "This equipment is ancient."

"Not everything." Katie said looking down to a USB port. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the drive from he pocket before plugging it into the port. Soon all the devices came to life. They all looked around to see if something would happen, then suddenly a robotic voice spoke.

They all turned to the computer in front of them.

"Initiate system?" the voice asked.

"And an AI to boot." Katie said walking over to the computer and typing. "Y-E-S" Katie said before looking back up to the screen. "Do you want to play a game." she says playfully before turning over her shoulder. "It's from—" neither look to be in the joking mood so she just shakes her head. "Never mind." Katie takes a step back as something begins forming on the screen. Soon a pixelated face appears.

"Rogers, Steven. Born 1918." the accented voice says before the camera atop of the screen moved toward Katie. "Chambers, Katherine. Born 1981." The camera moved again, this time aimed at Natasha. "Romanoff, Natalia Alianovna. Born, 1984."

"Freaky." Katie mutters looking to the camera.

"It must be some kind of recording." Natasha guessed.

"I am not a recording, fräulein." The recording replies. "I may not be the man I was when the Captain took me prisoner in 1945, but I am." Suddenly a photo appears on the computer screen on the side of a man.

"You have got to be kidding me?" Katie mutters as she tilts her head to the picture.

"Do you know this thing?" Natasha asked.

"Arnim Zola," Steve replied as he walked around the computer to see if this was really happening. "He was a German scientist who worked for the Red Skull. He's been dead for years."

"Actually he's Swiss." Katie corrected turning her eyes back to the pixelated figure on the screen.

"Correct you are Ms. Chambers, and Captain Rogers look around, I have never been more alive."

"Want to tell us how that is?" Katie asked.

"In 1972, I received a terminal diagnosis. Science could not save my body, my mind however was worth saving on two hundred thousand feet of databanks." The scientist recounted. "You are standing in my brain."

"I'm not sure if I'm impressed or freaked out right now." Katie said looking at the wiring of the computers trying to figure out how this was possible.

"How did you get here?" Steve asked.

"It was Operation Paper clip." Natasha said and both Katie and Steve look over to her. "After World War II, SHIELD recruited German scientists with strategic value."

"Of course they did," Katie said turning back to the computer. "And it would seem Zola's value extends way past his life span, though inviting the enemy in your house seems like a very stupid thing to do."

"They thought I could help their cause. I also helped my own."

"Case and point." Katie said pointing to the screen.

"HYDRA died with Red skull." Steve pointed out still trying to make sense of what was happening.

"Cut off one head, two more shall take it's place." Zola replied, the HYDRA emblem flashing on the screen. Katie turned away, the pieces slowly falling into place.

"I can't believe this." Katie muttered.

"We don't know anything yet," Steve said turning back to Zola. "Prove it."

"Accessing archive." Zola's voice says and they all turned to listen to the story none of them thought they would ever hear.

Tony Stark was not a man who took rejection well. He usually got what he wanted in a timely fashioned. At the moment that wasn't happening.

"Search it again!" Tony snapped.

"Sir, I have searched all of SHIELD's databases that I have access to and there is no mention of Mr. Banks in any of them." JARVIS replied and Tony groaned in frustration.

"There has to be something." Tony said standing to his feet.

"Tony, I think it's time we did what we've been avoiding." a voice says from behind him. Tony turns to see Bruce standing at the doorway. "We're not going to find anything, because SHIELD won't let us. That's never been a problem for one person."

"We tell her and you know what she's going to do." Tony said turning back to the hologram in front of him. "She's going to storm in there and that's what they want."

"You know what I don't get." Bruce says walking beside Tony. "Why?" Tony looked over to the man waiting for him to elaborate the question. "Why do they want her so bad?"

"I don't know," Tony said turning back to the screen. Suddenly a thought crossed his mind. "What if it isn't her they want?" he turned back to Bruce. "I mean they sent someone to find her father, what if he was the one they wanted?"

"I'm not following." Bruce said.

"What if Martin had information they wanted, but was killed before they could get it." Tony replied.

"And now they think that Katie may know what it is." Bruce added and Tony simply nodded. "They've put a lot of effort into this, whatever they're looking for, must be big." Tony looked to the computer as well. "Still doesn't change the fact that she may be the only key to getting Matthew back." Tony looked back over to his friend.

"I know." Tony sighed running a hand through his hair. They both turned at the sound of the dinging elevator and soon Clint walked into the room. "Tell me you got something."

"Nothing," Clint said with a shake of his head. "Everyone back at HQ is moving carefully. With Pierce in charge, no one knows what the hell is going on. Any luck accessing SHIELD'S files?"

"None, they've change up their security since our last B&E. There's no way around it." Tony replied. They all stood in silence just staring up to the blinking "ACCESS DENIED" message.

"We need Kat, don't we?" Clint asked breaking the silence.

"It would look that way." Tony sighed.

Katie turned her back and closed her eyes as Zola's words continued playing in her head. Sometimes the truth was a hard pill to swallow and right now, Katie's brain was just racing.

"The new HYDRA grew." His voice said now making her skin crawl. " A beautiful parasite inside SHIELD. For seventy years HYDRA has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war. And when history did not cooperate, history was changed."

"That's impossible, SHIELD would've stopped you!" Natasha interrupted.

"Would they?" Katie asked turning back to them. Natasha and Steve both looked over to her. "C'mon you can't tell me this doesn't make just an ounce of sense."

"All this time, somebody would've know something." Natasha said turning back to the screen.

"Accidents will happen." Zola's voice taunted and suddenly them images of deceased SHIELD members appeared. The faces of Howard and Maria Stark appeared, along with Director Fury. Katie clasped a hand over her mouth when a picture of her father appeared on the screen. "HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. Once the purification process is complete, HYDRA's new world order will arise. We won, Captain. Your death amounts to the same as your Life; a zero sum." In anger Steve slams his shield into the screen cracking it, only for Zola's face to appear on another screen.

"As I was saying." his voice says.

"I can't be here right now." Katie said shaking her head. For so long she wanted to know the truth behind her father's death and she thought she knew, she thought she had the answers, but she was now realizing that she didn't.

"Hey," Natasha says and Katie looks over to her. "Remember." It may have only been one word, but Katie didn't miss it's meaning. She had to remember who she was and that she was in control of her emotions. Katie took a deep breath and looked over to Zola's face.

"What's on the drive?" Steve demanded.

"Project insight required insight, and so I wrote an algorithm." replied Zola.

"What kind of algorithm?" Katie asked coming along side Steve.

"The answer to your question is fascinating." Zola replies. "Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it." They all turn just as the doors begin sliding close. Steve throws his shield in an attempt to stop it, but it's no use.

"Not good." Katie says turning to Steve as he catches his shield. "What now?"

"I got a bogey." Natasha says looking down to her phone. " Short range ballistic, thirty seconds tops."

"Who shot it?" Steve asks.

"Does it really matter!" Katie snapped looking for cover.

"Shield!" Natasha answered anyway.

"I'm afraid I have been stalling Captain." Zola's annoying voice taunts.

"Natasha, the flash!" Katie calls and Natasha quickly grabs the USB and pockets it. Steve turns noticing a grate in the floor and reaches down and picks it up, tossing it aside.

"Katie!" Steve calls for her to come over to him. He quickly turns as Natasha jumps into his arms. The last thing he sees before the explosion is Katie running in his direction.

They were lucky. That was the single thought Steve had as her carried a barely concious Natasha down the tunnel that was under the grate. The moment he saw the faint glimmering of light, he knew that he'd found their salvation. He pulled Natasha out of the tunnel and looked around to see that they ended up just outside the camp grounds. His eyes went back down to the tunnel in hopes that Katie had made it, that she was right behind him, but as he stood there, no one came out.

"Katie!" Steve called his voice slightly echoing.

"What's going on?" Natasha's voice nearly startled him. He turned to see the woman trying to stand to her feet.

"Hey, easy." Steve said helping her to her feet.

"Where's Sparrow?" Natasha asked noticing the woman's absence. Steve looked over to her and shook his head before looking back down into the tunnel. "No!" Natasha attempted to go back down the tunnel but Steve caught her arm. "She doesn't die like that." she turned her eyes to Steve. "Not after all of this, she doesn't just die in a hole." Steve had to physically pull her away from the tunnel. "Let me go!"

"Natasha stop!" Steve said grabbing her arms and looking down to her. She was exhibiting emotions he'd never seen in the seemingly stoic woman. "She's gon-"

"Anybody there!" a familiar voice echoed and both Steve and Natasha quickly ran over to the tunnel. "Steve! Natasha!"

"We're here!" Steve called back.

"I'm stuck!" Katie called back. "Between a rock and a hard place literally!" Steve let out a chuckled before throwing down his shield.

"I'm coming!" Steve called as he climbed into the tunnel. Natasha waited for only a few moments until Steve came back out, an arm around Katie as he helped her out of the tunnel. The moment Katie laid eyes on the woman, a big smile crossed her face.

"What?" Natasha asked.

"You like me." Katie sang as she pulled from Steve's grasp. "Steve told me what you said." Natasha glared over to Steve before turning and walking off toward the the spot where they'd park the truck. Katie and Steve stood and watched the woman retreating. "You do know that if either of us mention this, she will kill us."

"I'm aware." Steve replied before wrapping an arm around Katie before following after Natasha. They walked over to Natasha who was standing in front of the hole in the ground where they're truck used to be.

"Looks like we're walking." Katie said pulling from Steve's grasp. He was about to protest but she held up a hand. "I'm good." and so they began walking along side the road. They'd been walking for a while before they happened upon a bar. And said bar had a parking lot full of cars. "Alright Captain, do your magic." Katie said nearly pushing Steve toward the lot. "I don't think I can walk much longer."

The ride to DC was silent. It wasn't done purposefully. No one had any words after all the information they'd just received. Now it was all a matter of trying to make sense of it.

"Where are we going to go?" Katie asked breaking the silence as they crossed the state line back into DC. "Everyone's trying to kill us."

"Not everyone." Steve said glancing back to her. Both Natasha and Katie share a look before looking over to the Captain. "I know someone who might be able to help us."

That's how they ended up parked outside of Sam Wilson's house. Apparently he was a friend of Steve's who he often seen while jogging.

"You jog?" Katie asked her feet propped out of the window as they waited for Sam to come back. "Why, I mean can you even get into better shape?"

"It's therapeutic." Steve replied glancing over to Natasha who remained quiet as she glanced out of the window. Steve turned back to Katie. "Isn't there something you like to do that relaxes you?" Katie smiled about to reply but Steve held up a hand. "On second thought, don't answer that." Steve shook his head before turning back to Sam's house. "Katie, about your father—"

"Nope." Katie said turning to look out the window. Right now she was doing well with bottling up her emotions and didn't want to mess up a good thing. Just then Katie spots Sam just as he was running into the back door of his house. "There he is." They all stepped out of the car and walked toward the house when Natasha's phone began ringing. She pulled it from her pocket and looked down.

"It's Stark." she said before handing the phone to Katie. "I doubt it's me he wants to talk to. Take it, and we'll fill in Sam." Katie nodded before taking the phone and watching Steve and Natasha walk to the man's front door.

"You found me again, Mr. Stark." Katie greeted.

" _It's not Tony." Clint spoke._

"Bart, what are you doing at Tony's place?" asked Katie as she turned to see Steve and Natasha step inside the house.

" _I didn't know where else to go since going back to HQ isn't an option." Clint said. "Did you find out what's on the flash?"_

"Almost, an attempted murder sort of interrupted us." Katie said.

" _Are you alright?"_

"I'm fine, it's just—" Katie sighed with a shake of her head. "Bart, we may not have found out what's on the flash, but we did find out something. Something I'm not comfortable saying over the phone."

" _Where are you, I can come to you?"_

"There are eyes on Tony and probably you at the moment. Right now it's not safe." Katie said. "Look as soon as we figure out the next play I will call you to keep you in the loop."

" _Alright."_

"So what's been happening since we've been gone, anything new?" Katie asked and Clint didn't say anything. Though the silence seemed to be answer enough. "Bart, what's going on, did something happen?"

" _Yeah," Clint said clearing his throat. "I'm just not sure how to tell you."_

"With words is usually effective." Katie replied. Clint was once again silent which on fueled Katie's nerves. "Bart, you're freaking me out, just say it."

" _It's Matthew, Kat." Clint said and Katie froze. "He's missing. We're not exactly sure—"_

"SHIELD has him." Katie said as a statement, not a question her voice taking on a different tone. This one low and very serious.

" _We think so," Clint replied. "Listen Kat—"_

"When?"

" _Uh, maybe twenty-four hours." Clint replied. "Kat, before you do something—"_

"Twenty four hours?" Katie asked. "And I'm just now being informed about this?" she shook her head as her fingers began twitching at her side. Her heart was pounding in her chest at the thought of her little brother in danger because of her.

" _We wanted to be sure, we—"_

"You do not keep these things from me!" Katie snapped. "I don't care about what you need, because what I need it to know where my damn brother is!" she ended the call and everything in that moment stopped. She closed her eyes trying to take deep breaths hoping that it would help, but images of what could be happening to her brother flashed into her mind. That's when she felt it. Her blood running cold as the thoughts kept coming. She snapped open her eyes and turned to Sam's house climbing the stairs and just opening the door, not bothering with wasting anytime knocking or even waiting for an invitation.

"Who are you?" Sam asked turning to Katie who stood there looking around the room, as if searching for something.

"She's with us." Steve said noticing the look on Katie's face. "Something's wrong?"

"Do you have a computer?" Katie asked turning to Sam.

"Uh, yeah." Sam replied. "Why?" he looked over to Steve and then Natasha wondering what was going on right now.

"How protected is it?"

"Protected?" asked Sam with a shrug. "Normal I guess."

"That's not good enough." Katie muttered turning and heading right back out the door.

"Katie, wait!" Steve said almost running to catch up to her. He grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. This close he could see her pained expression. "What's going on, what did Stark say?"

"It wasn't Tony, it was Bart." Katie said looking up to Steve's eyes. She would never say out loud, because it would sound weird, but she like Steve's eyes. They were honest and that was rare, especially with the people she found company with. "Matthew—" she shook her head. The words were playing over and over in her head, but for some reason couldn't just come out of her mouth. "My brother is missing." She turned back to Steve. "SHIELD has him."

"Are you sure?" Steve asked.

"Was I there when it happened, no." Katie replied before looking over his shoulder to Natasha who was walking over. "But ask our resident SHIELD savant here. In the middle of us trying to discover what SHIELD is hiding under their bed, my little brother disappears, is that coincidence or capture tactic." Steve turned and looked over to Natasha awaiting an answer as well. The assassin simply let out a sigh and looked back to Katie.

"Most likely she's right." Natasha said.

"Thanks and good day." Katie said before turning but Steve quickly grabbed her arm, but she snatched it away. "Will stop doing that!"

"Yeah, as soon as you start using that brain of yours!" Steve replied. "If your brother is being held by SHIELD, then you waltzing in there to get him is what they want. It's a trap and I may not know much about this time, but I think voluntarily walking into a trap is still considered stupid."

"Idiotic." Natasha added.

"And you're neither." Steve said looking to Katie. "Look, I know you're worried about your brother, but if their intentions really are to capture you, then they won't hurt him."

"Yes they will," Natasha said and Katie looked over to her. "She knows they will. They know she knows they will, which is what they're hoping will fuel her rage and cause her to storm the castle."

"We have to play this smart." Steve said looking to Katie. "If what they don't want is for us to uncover Zola's algorithm, then that's what we do."

"Or we push too hard and they kill my brother." Katie said with a slight shake of her head before turning to Steve.

"Do you trust me?" Steve asked and Katie let out a sigh as she turned away from him. "I know things are not going the way we thought they would, but we are a team." She turned back to him. "Just give us a chance to fix this the smart way."

"What's the smart way?" Katie asked.

"That's what we were about to figure out." said Natasha before turning and heading back to the house. Steve looked back to Katie who simply gave him a nod before following him into Sam's house.

At first she thought a shower would at least make her feel better, but it didn't. Her head was still in that place and she didn't know how long she could hold on to rationality. They were in the kitchen, Steve, Natasha and Sam talking, while Katie only half listened as she stood by the window a mug of untouched coffee in her hands.

"So..." Natasha says glancing over to Steve. "The question is, who in SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?"

"Pierce." Katie says not turning to either of them. She had her suspicions of the man, and knew that there was something up with him, but it wasn't until this moment that she began to realize what it was.

"Who just happens to be sitting in the most secure building in the world." Natasha said.

"I wouldn't say the most secure." Katie muttered looking down to her cup. "A little time and I could get you in through the front door."

"What we don't have is time," Steve said and Katie turned back to him. "Look we know he's not working alone. Zola's algorithm was on the Lumurian Star."

"You know who else was on that ship?" Katie asked sitting her cup on the table and walking over to them.

"Jasper Sitwell." Natasha said.

"I should've known there was something up with that little shit." Katie muttered. "He kept his head so far up Pierce's ass, I'm surprised he can even walk."

"So the real question is, how do three of the most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD officer in broad daylight?" Steve asks glancing over to Katie and then over to Natasha.

"The answer is, you don't." Sam answered unexpectedly. They all turned to him waiting for an explanation when he suddenly tossed on the counter in front of Steve. "Call it a resume." He wanted in and apparently he had the credentials to back it up. Katie had once again zoned out as she turned back to look out the window. Her mind no longer thinking of what could be happening to Matthew, and now developing a plan in case all of this goes south.

"Where can we get our hands on one of these?" Steve asks and Katie glances back over to him. She walks around the counter and looks down to the photo. Her eyes widened at what she saw.

"The last one is at Fort Meade, behind three guarded gates and a twelve-inch steel wall." Sam replied and Katie looked over to him. Steve simply looks over to Natasha who shrugs.

"Shouldn't be a problem." Steve says before looking to Katie who shakes her head and drops the file back on the counter. "Katie?"

"It's time." Katie said turning to Steve. "All of this, it's good, it's calculated, makes tons of sense, but it takes time. Matthew does not have time."

"What do you think will happen?" Natasha asked and Katie looked over to the woman. "You trade yourself for him and they just let him walk?" Natasha walked around the counter and planted herself in front of Katie. "I know emotions cloud logic, but right now you have to fight it and think. There's only one way we get your brother back and that's finding out how deep this goes."

"Katie, she's right." said Steve. Katie turned away when a thought came to her. She turned back to Steve and nodded.

"Right, you're right." Katie said turning to Natasha. "You should be going to Fort Meade" she looked over to Sam. "Where's your computer?" Sam just lifted a hand and pointed in the other room. Katie nodded and walked into the other room.

"She's up to something." Natasha said and Steve looked over to her.

"I’ll keep an eye on her." Steve said before looking over to Sam. "You're going with Natasha."

"Aright, let me grab my jacket." Steve said turning back to Natasha.

"Watch her." Natasha warned before turning and head outside. Once Sam left as well, Steve walked into the other room to find Katie sitting behind Sam's computer.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked watching as Katie typed furiously.

"Accessing Sitwell's calendar." Katie said as she stopped typing and read the screen.

"I thought you said Sam's computer wasn't safe." Steve said walking behind her. "Won't they track this?"

"I'm using a ghost function, allowing me temporary access." Katie said grabbing a pen and paper and writing down the address. "Lunch with the Senator Stern." Katie said writing down the address, before typing again and letting the screen shut off. She stood to her feet and handed Steve the paper. "We know where he's going to be so just have Natasha and Sam meet us there." Katie was about to walk past Steve but he caught her arm.

"I can see it, you know." Steve said and Katie turned to him with a look of confusion. "So much stuff being thrown at you and you're holding it in. You're cracking and sooner or later its going to break you."

"If I haven't broken by now Captain, I don't think it's going to happen." Katie said pulling from his grasp. "We're wasting time we don't have, so let's stop with all the touchy feely crap that's happening." And with that Katie stalked off.


	7. Chapter 7

Cracking? Was she cracking? Katie didn't feel like she was. Actually she wasn't feeling much of anything but anger which she thought she had under control.

Three hours after Katie's little heart to heart with Steve, she sat on the roof of a distant building looking down to the long range laser pointer in her hand. She looked down to her watch before turning and looking over the edge with binoculars. She spotted Sitwell and the Senator exiting the restaurant surrounded by Stern's security.

"You know I knew Stern was crooked, but I didn't know he was twisty pretzel crooked." spoke Katie as she looked over to Steve and Natasha beside her who were looking as well.

"Katie, when Sam brings Sitwell, I think you should let me and Natasha question him." Steve said turning to Katie whose look probably could kill a weaker man. "I just think you're still a little emotionally charged about your brother—" Katie stood to her feet and walked toward the door. "Katie!"

"I'm waiting downstairs!" She called not bothering to look back to him.

"Emotionally charged?" Natasha asked and Steve looked over to her and shrugged. "I'll go after her." Steve watched as Natasha followed after Katie.

Once the gray car pulled up Katie took a step forward only for Natasha to grab her and pull her away. Her initial reaction was to attack, but the woman seemed to be holding her in just the right position to make that difficult.

"Take him upstairs!" Natasha called over to Sam who nodded before walking to the trunk and pulling the agent out. Sitwell's eyes went wide as he looked to Katie and Natasha. Katie struggled to pull away, but the assassin had her locked in a tight grip. "Take him, now!" Once Sam pulled Sitwell through the doors and up to the room, Natasha slammed Katie's back against the brick wall. "Will you grow the fuck up, this is bigger than you and it's bigger than your brother." Katie shoved Natasha off of her.

"You know why we've never got along?" Katie asked. "Because whatever happened you, whatever you've been through, screwed your shit up. I know what the mission is Natasha, but I also know that if I lose Matthew then that's it." she turned and headed for the stairs. "I'll stay in line, but I'm getting answers." she muttered as she stepped up the stairs, Sam passing her as he comes back down. The moment she steps back on the roof, she see Steve holding Sitwell off the edge of the roof.

"Is this little display meant to insinuate that you can throw me off the roof?" Sitwell asked pompously. "Cause it's really not your style, Rogers."

"You're right, it's not." Steve replies as Natasha walks up from behind. "It's hers." Steve releases Sitwell, just as Natasha walks over and kicks the man off the room.

"And you think I would've went too far!" Katie snapped and they both turned to her. "Man off the roof, that's real tame." they all turned in time to see Sam in his full on falcon suit flying up Sitwell in his hands, before tossing the man back on the roof. "Hey Jasper, I think now would be a good time to start talking, because if I throw you off this roof, no one's going to catch you." And it would seem agent Sitwell was inclined to start talking. The man holds up his hands in surrender.

"Zola's algorithm is a program...for choosing Insight's targets." Sitwell says.

"What targets?" asks Steve taking a step toward the man.

"You!" Sitwell says before turning to Katie. "You're at the top of the list. There's a TV anchor in Cairo, the Undersecretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa city. Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, anyone who's a threat to HYDRA! Now, or in the future." That was interesting, Katie thought.

"Future?" Katie asked walking beside Steve. "What do you mean, how could it know?"

"How could it not?" replied Sitwell with a sadistic laugh. "The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught HYDRA how to read it."

"What are you talking about?" Natasha asked.

"They're turning to extreme deduction." Katie said and they turned to her. "Isn't that right Jasp? Everything SHIELD has access to, bank records, medical histories, probably even what you got on your SAT's. You son of a bitch, you're predicting threat patterns."

"And then what happens?" Steve asks.

"Oh God, Pierce is going to kill me." Sitwell mumbled turning away.

"Hey!" Katie said grabbing the lapels of the man's jacket and pulling him to his feet. "Right now Pierce killing you should be the least of your worries, now talk!"

"Then the insight helicarriers scratch people off the list." Sitwell replies. "A few millions at a time."

"Mass murder," Katie said releasing the man "When does insight launch?"

"Sixteen hours." Sitwell says.

"We should go now." Natasha says glancing down to her watch.

"Right," Katie says before turning back to Sitwell. "One more question Jasper," Katie grabs the man's tie and pulls him toward the edge of the roof. "We have our information, so your survival is solely based on how you answer this next question." she grabbed the man by the collar once again. "My brother, Matthew Banks, where is he?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sitwell replied and Katie quickly grabbed the back of his head and slammed it into the concrete wall of the roof. She heard movement behind her and she turned. "I will toss him off of this roof, so if I were you, I'd wait until I'm done." her tone was once again different, unfamiliar. She turned back to Sitwell whose forehead was gashed and bleeding. "Oh, that's gonna scar, I don't think your head would be able to take another blow like that." she grabbed his jacket. "Let's try that again Jasper?"

"I don't— I don't know where he's being kept." Jasper said reaching up to his bleeding head.

"Is he alive?" Katie asked.

"You know he is," Jasper replied. "Pierce wants you, that's all he's ever wanted."

"Why?" Katie asked. But before the man could answer, strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her away.

"Take him down stairs!" Steve yelled as he held Katie in place. Natasha grabbed Sitwell by the arm and nearly dragged him to the stairs as Sam simply flew back down to the car. Steve spun Katie around. "That wasn't necessary!"

"To you maybe, but to me that was everything I needed from him." Katie said trying to step around Steve. "Let me go!"

"No, because you're a risk!" Steve said and Katie looked at him with wide eyes. "Right now you're scared and I understand, but we can't afford your fear messing this up." Katie snatched herself from Steve's arms.

"I know what's at risk!" Katie snapped. "I was standing there listening to every word Sitwell said. These are peoples lives, and I am fully aware, but if you don't think you can trust me to back you up, then I think this is that part where we part ways captain." Katie headed toward the door before stopping. Steve was probably right. She was probably bordering on reckless and when it came to people’s lives, that's not the person you want fighting by your side. She took a final deep breath before stepping through the door and down the stairs. Natasha stood outside of the car waiting when he saw Katie. The women shared a look before Katie turned away and walked down the opposite direction. Once Steve came down the stairs, Natasha turned to him.

"Her alone is dangerous." Natasha said and Steve simply looked down to Katie's quickly retreating for before turning back to Natasha. "You know that don't you?"

"Well for the time being, I'm still banking on her fighting for our side." Steve said before walking around and stepping into the passenger side of the car. He looked over to Sam. "We have to go." Sam simply nodded before pulling off.

Katie was walking, but stopped when she heard the sound of a car moving. She turned to see the others driving away. She had no idea what she was thinking blowing up like that. If there was one thing she knew, it was that this was one situation she wouldn't be able to beat alone. She simply shook her head about to turn when she noticed a black hummer that hadn't moved, start and follow behind the car. It just scream suspicious.

"Not good." Katie muttered before running down the alley until she reached the street in time to see the hummer getting further and further away. "Shit!" Katie looked around when she noticed a a guy pulling over on his motorcycle. "Alright." she quickly ran over to the man as he was climbing off of his bike. He was walking toward her looking quite confused, but soon that confusion turned to anger when Katie snatched his keys from his hand.

"Hey!" the man yelled whipped around to see Katie hopping on his bike, starting the engine and pulling off.

"I'll bring it back!" Katie yelled over her shoulder before speeding down the street. She was whipping and whirling in between cars trying to catch up to the others before they were caught. The moment she caught a look of the hummer in the distance, she let her feet press hard on the acceleration. She was only a couple of cars behind when she saw a man climbing out of the window of the hummer and making his way to the top. "What the hell?" Before she knew what was happening the man jumped from the hummer to the gray car that held her friends. Katie dipped over trying to speed around the cars in front of her, but she was too late. She looked up just in time to see the man slam a hand into the back window and pulled what looked like Jasper Sitwell from the vehicle and tossing him out like yesterday's trash. The car sped up and so did the hummer.

Katie's foot was pressed as far as it could go until she was right behind the hummer. It was that moment that she saw the man jump back onto the roof of the hummer. Katie gripped the handle bars trying to get as close as she could to the hummer. "This is stupid." she thought about what she was about to do. Before she could overthink it, she jumped up, her feet on the seat of the bike before leaping onto the back of the hummer. She was able to hold on to the back, but her legs swayed with the rapid movements of the vehicle. With all the strength she could muster, Katie pulled herself up to the top of the roof to see the man crouched on the hood of the car.

"Hey!" Katie yelled and he turned to her. That's when Katie was finally able to see the man who'd just jumped from car to car on a busy highway like it was nothing. He wore a mask that covered most of his face. "You must be the Winter Soldier!" She looked over the man just in time to see the car that held her friends now flipping into the air. She stopped breathing in that moment and only started at the sight of Steve, Natasha and Sam flying out the side.

That's when the hummer came to a screeching halt. Katie held onto the sides, holding on for dear life until the vehicle stopped moving. The moment it did, the masked man turned back to her before jumping onto the roof. Katie pushed herself back, letting her body fall to the ground with hard thud. She quickly rolled under the hummer against her body's protest. She just laid there for a moment until she heard the sound of gunfire. Tilting her head, Katie saw the men from the hummer shooting at something, most likely her friends.

"Gotta move." Katie whispered before rolling from under the hummer. She opens the back door of the vehicle and climbs inside the backseat. There lined in the trunk are all different types of weapons. Katie grabs two hand guns and some spare clips before grabbing a couple of grenades and stuffing them in to her pocket. She loaded one of the hand guns and jumped out of the back seat. Katie was once again running, this time shooting as well. The moment guns were turned at her, Katie reached into her pocket and pulled out one of the grenades. "You should've locked your doors boys!" before they could react she pulled the clip and tossed the grenade in their direction before running and jumping off the side of the overpass.

"Katie!" a voice yelled from behind her and she turned to see Natasha running toward her. "Move!" Katie nodded before running once again dodging gun fire. Katie caught a glimpse of something in a shadow on the street before stopping and tossing an arm stopping Natasha as well. Katie pointed to the shadow of a figure that seemed to be standing waiting for them. Natasha simply nodded before nudging her head for Katie to go one way and for her to go the other. Both women backed up slowly, before shooting up to the figure before running for cover behind a nearby truck. The gunfire was relentless, with not even a single hope of letting up.

"We have to move!" Katie called over to Natasha. The woman simply nodded before they turned and joined in with the fleeing citizens. "Natasha, I have an idea. Toss me your phone!" Katie recorded her voice, hoping to distract the man. After placing the phone on the side of an abandoned car, she and Natasha ran to hide.

"This won't work." Natasha whispers.

"Yes it will." Katie mutters back as they peek over the car to see the Winter Soldier, large gun in hand stalking down the street. "How much do you have?"

"I'm out." Natasha said glancing over to Katie. "You?"

"I think I dropped my spares when I was running." Katie said looking over to see the man getting closer. "Looks like we're going to have to go old school. You knock him on his ass and I'll keep the gun out of his hands." They watched as the man walked up, stopping at the sound of Katie's voice. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out an explosives, tossing it into the direction of the voice. The moment it explodes Natasha jumps on top of the car and leapt right on the man's back causing him to drop his gun. She pulled out a wire to try to strangle him, only for him to toss her off of his back. Katie runs around just in time to see the man try to reach for his gun. Katie quickly dropped to her feet and kicked it out of reach. He kicked a foot at her, but she rolled out of reach before jumping to her feet and glancing back to the man, this time able to see his blue eyes. And against her better judgment, she froze. His eyes went to her as well, and to her surprise he didn't instantly try to kill her. They both came back to reality as Natasha tossed a electric patch to the man's metallic armor. Katie took that chance to run over and help Natasha to her feet before they both quickly ran off.

"What the hell was that!" Natasha yelled looking over to Katie.

"I don't—" Katie said with a shake of her head. "I think I know him." she turned back to see people running in the streets. "Get out of the way!"

"You gotta get out of the way!" Natasha yelled when another shot rang so close, Katie thought it blew right past her ear. She heard a grunt from beside her, and turned to see Natasha grab her shoulder. Katie quickly grabbed the woman and pulled her behind a car for cover. "You should go." Katie looked over to the woman like she was crazy. "He's not going to stop."

"Neither am I," Katie replied peeking over the side of the car. "I"m not leaving you." she glanced back over to Natasha. "You maybe a major bitch, but I think I would shed a tear if something happened to you."

"Just one?" Natasha asked still gripping her shoulder.

"Maybe like a half of one." Katie said looking down to the woman whose eyes went wide. Katie turned following her gaze to see the Winter Soldier standing on top of a car, the barrel of his gun pointed right at them. Both thought that this was their end, but before they knew what was happening, Steve appeared tackling the man. Katie and Natasha watch the fight, seeing how both men are equally matched.

"You said you know him?" Natasha asked and Katie glances over to her for a second but turns to see the Winter Soldier grab Steve's shield. "How?"

"I don't know, his eyes—" Katie closes her eyes trying to rack her brain for those eyes. "I remember his eyes." And that's when it hit her.

_"Who are you?" a deep rough voice growled._

" _I'm nobody." Katie replied pulling at his hand, but he was strong. It was getting harder and harder to breathe and she knew soon she'd pass out. "Let me go." she ground out. "Please." the alarms stopped ringing and suddenly the lights came on, and Katie found a pair of blue eyes piercing through long dark locks of hair. They turned toward the door when they heard movement. "Please." he turned back to her. "Help me." he let out a growl before releasing his hand from her neck._

_"Under the bed." he ordered._

Katie snapped open her eyes in time to see Steve toss the man over his shoulder and in that movement the man's mask flies off of his face. That's when Katie stands to her feet and moves a little closer to finally look to the man's face to see if her suspicions were right.

"Bucky?" Steve says looking to the man with utter shock and confusion. Katie looks over to Steve before turning back to the Winter Soldier.

"Who the hell is Bucky?" he says looking to Steve a slight confusion in his eyes before they turn to Katie. "Who?" he takes a step in her direction. "Who are you?" Steve moved in Katie's direction, just as Sam came flying in kicking the man sending his flying. Bucky quickly jumped to his feet about to attack, when an explosive came flying in his direction. They turned to see Natasha leaning against a truck holding a rocket launcher.

The next few moments happened so fast that Katie could barely process it. Soon they were surrounded by SHIELD... or HYDRA agents, guns pointed at them forcing them to the ground. Katie felt her arms being pulled behind her back with unnecessary force before she's picked up and pushed to van.

"I get the honors of capturing the unconquerable Sparrow." the agent purred in Katie's ear before lifting her into the van where she and the others are tossed into the back, two masked agents sitting with them, guns in hands.

"It was him." Steve muttered and they looked over to the man who couldn't even lift his head. "He looked right at me and didn't even know me."

"How is that possible?" Sam asked. "It was like seventy years ago."

"Zola," Katie says looking over to them before turning to Steve. "I read about Zola experimenting on soldiers, maybe Bucky was one of them." she shook her head as she turned away letting her head fall back on the side of the van. It was just now hitting her that Bucky Barnes was the one who saved her when she was lost and broken in The Black.

"When I had nothing, I had Bucky." Steve says.

"Katie?" Natasha says looking over to the woman. "You want to share now? How do you know Bucky?" All eyes turn to Katie.

"Because he saved my life." Katie said turning to Steve. "He was in Operation BLACK and he helped me:" she shook her head. "I didn't know—"

"It's not your fault." Steve said leaning his shoulder against Katie's. Katie nods before looking over to Natasha and her bleeding shoulder.

"You're going to need a doctor." Katie says before turning to one of the masked agents. "Look at her, she needs a doctor!" Suddenly one of the guards pulled out an electric baton. Everyone froze as they watched the guard hit the other guard before kicking him in the face knocking them out. Their eyes went to the guard as she takes off her helmet and to their surprise it was Maria Hill.

"That thing was squeezing my brain." Maria said before looking to Sam. "Who's this guy?" she looks to the others.

"Was there a reason you just sat there?" Katie asked and Maria looked over to her and just smiled.

"It's good to see you too Sparrow." Maria said before pulling the keys from her pocket. "But we'll have time for greetings later, now we have to go."

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

_She was one weird girl. That was the single thought Matthew had on the day he laid eyes on his new sister. He didn't expect her. He really didn't expect any of it. He spent most of his life going from home to home, foster parent to foster parent, each with their own issues. He'd only met the Banks a week ago and to be honest they seemed too good to be true. He had his own room and they bought him cool things, sure they were weird some times, whispering when they thought he wasn't paying attention, but they were adults and to him all adults were just weird. But it would seem there were some weird kids too, he found that out one rainy afternoon._

_He was sitting in the living room watching cartoons when the doorbell suddenly rang. He looked over his shoulder to see his new parents sharing a look he wasn't quite familiar with before they both rushed to the door. He couldn't see who walked in, but he heard a new voice._

" _Matthew, come over here, we want you to meet someone." Evelyn called waving the boy over. Matthew stood to his feet, but didn't move. He was still a bit unsure of how he should behave. In the last foster home he was in he practically got yelled at for breathing too loud. "It's alright, come on." Evelyn smiled at him the way no one had ever smiled at him before. He smiled a bit before walking over to see an older lady, standing beside someone who wore a hood hiding their face. "Matthew I want you to meet your sister." Evelyn wrapped an arm around the boy pulling him closer. "This is Katie." Matthew looked up to the girl tilting his head in an effort to see her face, but he was unsuccessful._

" _Come now Katie," the older woman said placing a hand on Katie's shoulder only for the teenager to shake it off. "Take off your hood, meet your new family." the girl didn't move and the woman simply smiled before leaning to whisper something in Katie's ear. He heard the girl let out an audible sigh before reaching up and pulling off the hood reveal a young girl with a mess of a pony tail piled on top of her head._

" _Mr. and Mrs. Banks, I have some last minute paper work I need you to fill out." the older woman said digging in her briefcase._

" _Of course," Christopher Banks said inviting the woman inside. "Please come in." They walked into the living room and Evelyn turned to Matthew and Katie._

" _You two introduce yourselves and get to know each other:" Evelyn said smiling down to both children before turning and walking over to the others. Matthew and Katie stood there, the young boy staring up to the girl whose eyes were on the floor, her hands stuffed in her pockets. She glanced up to see him staring and quirked an eyebrow._

" _What?" she asked finally speaking. "What are you staring at?" Matthew didn't say anything as he continued staring at her. She shook her head. "Of course I get stuck with the weirdo kid," Matthew let out a snort and she turned back to him. "What?"_

" _I was kinda thinking the same thing." Matthew said cracking a smile. Katie sighed, but couldn't help the small smile that formed on her lips._

Water splashed against Matthew's face jolting him awake. The moment his eyes opened it took him a few moments to realize that it wasn't a dream. That he was tossed in the back of a van, taken to an undisclosed location, when a weird masked man would beat the crap out of him for his snarky comments.

He lifted his head to see one of the goons from before holding a tray of what he guessed was some type of food.

"Time to feed the puppy." The guard said with a slight chuckle before letting the tray hit the floor and turning and stalking out of the cell. Matthew sat up from the bed, every movement seeming painful. He cracked his neck as he let his eyes scan around the room. At first he had hope that this wasn't going to last long. He was friends with the smartest members of the Avenges. He assumed that he'd be rescued by now, but nothing. After the first couple of hours he began to realize that a rescue wasn't happening anytime soon and that he if he was going to get out of there, then he was going to have to do it himself.

_Young Katie stood with her hands stuffed into her pockets shaking her head at the young boy in front of her. She looked over to the adults in the room and sighed._

" _They're not that bad." Matthew said and she looked back over to him. "I mean this is the best house I've been in a while."_

" _How many families have you been with?" Katie asked and Matthew simply shrugged. He was young, but he'd seen a lot of houses, too many to count._

" _What about you?" Matthew asked._

" _This is my first foster family." Katie replied looking down to the floor again._

" _Where were you before this?" Matthew asked._

" _With my—" Katie's words stopped in her throat. Since her father's death it had become her mission to forget him. It was her belief that she couldn't feel sad, that she couldn't feel the pain if she didn't remember him. And so the first step was pretending as if he didn't exist. "It doesn't matter." they stood there once again in an awkward silence._

" _You're my sister now." Matthew said unexpectedly and Katie didn't know what to say. "That's what they said before you got here, that I was going to have a sister." he cracked a small smile. "I’ve_ _never had a sister before."_

" _I’ve never had a brother before." Katie replied._

" _So what now?" Matthew asked._

" _Now, we survive."_

" _Together?" Matthew asked and Katie looked unsure for a moment._

" _Yeah," she replied with a nod. "Together."_

The SUV came to stop and Katie snapped open her eyes. In true Maria Hill fashion, her rescue mission was impeccable. They cut through the floor out of the SHIELD van, slipping down into the sewer underneath. Theywalked for a while until climbing back to the streets where they were met by the SUV. They'd been driving for nearly a hour and were now stopping. They all climbed out and peered up to the massive secret facility that seemed to be strategically placed in the middle of nowhere. The others continued behind Maria, but Katie stayed behind. She couldn't help but feel her self moving further away from her brother and that was the last thing she wanted. Too much time was passing, and with every passing minute her brother's life was on the line. She looked to the facility before letting her eyes scan the the area. Every fiber in her body wanted to run, wanted to go find her brother and bring him back to safety.

"Whatever you're thinking, don't." A voice spoke and Katie turned back to the facility to see Maria standing with her arms folded across her chess.

"My brother—"

"We know." Maria interrupted. "We're sorry that he was brought into this, but you knew the repercussions when you were brought into SHIELD."

"I didn't know that my brother would be kidnapped by the people I decided to work for!" Katie snapped. "I didn't know that the people I chose to follow would turn out to be the enemy!" She stalked over to the agent. "I needed to feel something other than the emptiness left behind after my father's death, I felt alone and he—" she brought her eyes back to the woman and remembered to cap the emotion. She remembered that at the moment she didn't have the luxury to just break down and cry despite how badly she wanted to. "There's a plan."

"Yes," Maria said with a slight nod. "You may want to come inside." Katie looked confused for a moment before following after the woman inside. They walked down a dark hall, the only light coming from a couple of lights up above.

"Maria I don't have time—"

"You're going to make some." Maria commented over her shoulder as they walked upon a plastic curtain. Maria pulled it aside and moved so Katie could walk inside. Katie didn't know what to expect, but the moment she stepped inside the room seeing Nick Fury alive and laying in a hospital bed was not one of them.

"I was wondering when you were going to be making your grand entrance." Fury said looking up to Katie who still seemed to be staring at him with wide eyes. She looked around at the eyes on the director that looked just as surprised as she. Katie turned to meet his eyes once again, before taking a slight step back. She couldn't understand it, but she once again had the undeniable urge to just run away. It was the hand on her back that stopped her. She glanced over her shoulder to see more familiar faces.

"Bart?" she said looking up to Clint's face.

"Bart?" Tony said walking in from behind the curtain. "Is he the only one you see?" he glanced over to Fury who simply shook his head as he looked to the scientist. "You look like crap Nicky, well I guess almost dying and then faking your death would do that to a person."

"Mr. Stark," Fury greeted before looking over as Bruce walked in as well. "Well it looks like we're all here, well all who live on the planet earth."

"So you're alive?" Bruce asked looking over to the medical equipment around the director. "What's the damage?" They listened as Fury told the tale of how he faked his death.

Katie once again took a slight step back, but Clint's hand on her back was still there. He looked over to her.

"Are you ok?" he asked and she simply shook her head.

"Why all the secrecy?" Steve asked and they turned to listen to the director's answer.

"Any attempt made on the director's life had to look successful." Maria stated.

"Can't kill you if you're already dead." Fury added. "Plus I wasn't sure who to trust." Katie let out a snort, and in such a small room it didn't go by unnoticed. All eyes went to her and she looked to Fury. "I think I owe you—"

"You don't." Katie said holding up a hand. "Don't apologize, because I don't need your apologies." she looked to the eyes on her. "A and B happened and now we're at C. So what's next?" No one said anything, and that only made her angry.

"I think I would like to speak with Ms. Chambers alone if you all don't mind." Fury said before looking over to Maria. "Hill show them to the briefing room." Maria nodded before moving toward the hall, but no one else moved.

"Guys." Maria said and suddenly they began following after her. Clint stayed by Katie's side while the other filed out. Tony walked over and stopped in front of her.

"Do you want me to stay?" Tony asked ignoring the obvious glare that Clint was sending him.

"I'm not sure I want to stay." Katie muttered looking over to Fury.

"Hey, you say the word and we're out of here." Tony said and Katie gave him a small smile before turning to Clint. "He doesn't get to come. If I wasn't recording his calls, we wouldn't have known about this little get together."

"This wasn't supposed to be a get together." Clint said his voice portraying his obvious annoyance. "Too many people leads to leaks, you're not supposed to be here."

"Well he is!" Fury snapped and they looked over to the man. "All of you are and now we must continue in accordance, but right now I'm going to need for you two to leave." Clint and Tony turned back to Katie who gave them a nod that it was ok before they both turned and walked out.

"I've been thinking about this conversation." Fury said looking over to Katie who kept her distance from his bed. "About what I would say to you right now."

"You could start with how we plan on getting my brother away from your psychotic coworkers." Katie said. "Right now that's all I'm interested in."

"You're still so much like him." Nick said and Katie looked over to him confused. "Your father, he refused to show weakness too."

"Will you stop!" Katie snapped stalking over to stand on the side of the man's bed. "Right now I do not need for you to tell me how much like my father I am, I don't need a pep talk or some, "you were right" speech, so do us all a favor and get out of that bed and lets get down to business." and with that Katie stalked out of the room. She walked down the hall in search of the others when she caught sight of the door. There it was again. That nagging temptation in the back of her head to just run away from them.

"Hey," a voice said startling her. She turned to see Clint walking over to her. He glanced over to the door and then back to her with a look as if he just knew what was going through her head. "Look I know—"

"No you don't know!" Katie snapped stepping back out of his attempt to touch her. "You all want me here, to stay still when I should be out there finding him, saving him."

"What do you think we want?" Clint asked. "We want to find Matthew and we want to get HYDRA out of SHIELD, but we do it together, we always do it together." She scoffed and shook her head and turning her back to him. "What?"

"We always do it together?" she repeated turning back to him. "I think the last year and a half sort of debunks that theory. For the last year and a half I was alone because the people I trusted thought I was crazy or a traitor and wanted to lock me up in cell for the rest of my life!"

"We're sorry, but you can't blame anyone for having doubts!" Clint snapped. "This—all of this, you have to admit that if you weren't standing here in it you wouldn't believe it."

"You're right, I don't blame you, but I'm also not kidding myself, just because the truth is out and we're all in the same room doesn't mean the bands' back together!" Katie said. She felt her heart racing in her chest. Those emotions she was trying her hardest to put a cap on were threatening to spill over and she couldn't let them. Not now. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. "This solves nothing, this—" She shook her head. "This wastes time, lets just find the others and figure out the next move." Katie moved to walk past him, but Clint caught her arm and pulled her flush against his chest. She glanced up to see him staring down to her, his green eyes burrowing into her soul as they always did.

"Whether you believe it or not, we are in this together." Clint said. "The people in that room have your back." she felt his hands slide to her hips. "I have your back. If you don't know anything, if you doubt everything else, don't doubt that."

"Everything alright?" a new voice appeared and they turned to see Tony staring quizzically at the pair.

"Everything's fine Stark." Clint said that annoyance growing. "This was a private conversation, so how about you—"

"It's alright," Katie interrupted. "We should join the others anyway, I'm sure the director's should be almost ready." and with that she moved past them down the hall. Both men watched her before turning back to each other.

"You just can't help yourself, can you?" Clint asked looking over to the man. "Whenever she's around you have the need to attach yourself to her and every little detail of her life." Clint took a dangerous step close to the man. "You need to figure out this fascination you have with her and you need to get over it."

Once Fury changed they all sat around the square table and recounted all the new found information they had discovered. Fury looked down to the open folder in front of him and pull out an old picture of Pierce. Katie's eyes kept going to the black case that sat in front of him.

"This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said, "Peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility." Fury tossed the picture on the table and looked up to the team. " See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues."

"We have to stop the launch." Clint said looking over to the director.

"I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore." Fury replied before flipping open the case to revealing three computer chips.

"What's that?" Steve asked looking down to the chips.

"You are a man out of time," Tony said leaning forward to look at the chips. "They're server blades. Think instant off button." Tony looked over to Fury. "Am I right?"

"Once the helicarriers reach three thousand feet," Maria said before turning her computer to reveal a diagram of the carriers. "They'll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized." Maria explains glancing over to Katie whose eyes are now looking down to her hands.

"We need to breach those carriers and replace the targeting blades with are own." Fury said glancing over to Katie as well.

"Three carriers, three blades." Bruce says sitting back in his seat and folding his arms over his chest. "I guess one or two just won't cut it?"

"Right, doctor." replied Maria. "We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational a whole lot of people are gonna die."

"We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA." stated Fury. "We need to get pass them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's left..."

"Salvage?" Katie spoke for the first time since this little meeting began. "HYDRA is a cancer that snuck in under your nose and now it has spread and nobody in this room knows how far." She glanced between their faces as they looked to her. "In this situation, it is my opinion that there is no salvaging SHIELD." she brought her eyes to Fury. "A year and a half ago maybe, but now, now there's nothing we can do."

"She's right," Steve said looking to the director. "We're not just taking down carriers, we have to take down SHIELD:"

"SHIELD has nothing to do with it!" Fury snapped glancing from Steve to Katie.

"You gave me a mission, this is how it ends." Steve countered. "SHIELD has been compromised. And you said it yourself, HYDRA was right under your nose and one person noticed." Steve turned to Katie who simply turned away. "And we didn't listen."

"I listened," Fury said and Katie glanced over to him. "Why do you think we're meeting in a cave?"

"And how many people had to die before we got here?" Katie asked. "How many people are going to die because we're trying to attack this thing at the last minute?"

"I'm sorry about your brother—"

"Seriously, I don't need you to apologize, I'm not that kind of person!" Katie snapped. "What I need for you to see is that it's time to euthanize SHIELD and HYDRA, because at this point we can't differentiate between the two."

"SHIELD, HYDRA it all goes." Steve said firmly. Fury looked to the man and then over the faces of the team before him. No one said anything, but the looks on their faces was answer enough. They all were in agreement with what had to happen next.

"He's right." Maria said vocalizing what everyone was thinking.

"Well," Fury said sitting back in his chair and looking over to Steve. "Looks like you're giving the orders now." Steve opened his mouth to reply but a ringing phone interrupted him. They all looked between one another trying to find the source.

"It's me." Tony said snaking the phone from his jacket.

"Stark I thought I made it perfectly clear that this place stays off the grid." Maria said angrily. "That means no outside tech."

"And I told you Agent Hill—" Tony said glancing down to his phone as he stood to his feet. "Nobody traces me. Well no one whose not already here." he quickly brought the phone to his ear and walked out of the room.

"I have to find my brother." Katie spoke and they looked over to her. "I get it. Disabling those carriers is the main priority, saving lives is the goal of this mission, but I just can't let my brother die because of me." she looked between the director and Maria. "If that makes me some sort of flight risk—" she shook her head. "If you think I would be better off not being apart of this mission let me know now, because this is what I’m doing." Fury and Maria shared a look before Maria stood to her feet.

"Come with me, I'll show you what we have so far." Maria said. Katie nodded before standing to her feet as well. She glanced over to Clint who remained in his seat, but he gave her a nod as he watched her leave. Katie and Maria walked into the hall where they spotted Tony pacing.

"No, don't worry Happy, call for the jet, I want to leave in thirty." Tony ended the call and turned to Katie and once he did, she could see the concern laced into his features.

"What's wrong?" Katie asked walking over to him.

"Pepper, she—" Tony could barely speak. "There was an accident. There was this car and it ran a red light, she—"

"Tony," Katie said placing a hand on his arm. "Is she alright?"

"Happy said she was banged up pretty bad. She was in surgery when I spoke to him." Tony said and Katie could felt his hands twitching at his side. "I have to—"

"Of course, go." Katie said giving his arm a reassuring squeeze.

"What about—" Katie cut him off as she grabbed the back of his head and pulled his forehead to lean on his.

"Tony Stark you are going to get your ass on that plane and you're going to go be with the woman you love." said Katie. "We will handle this." She pulled back and gave him a small smile. "I'll get your PA back."

"What's wrong?" a new voice asked and they turned to see Bruce.

"Pepper's been in an accident and Tony has to go be with her." Katie said. "And you're going to go with him." she turned to Tony who looked confused. "We're about to take down an evil corporation, I doubt we'll need a hulk to do that." Bruce nodded and they turned to Maria.

"I'll get you a car." Maria said before taking out her phone.

"Look kitten, just because I'm leaving doesn't mean you do something stupid." Tony said. "You play this game smart and you come out the other side alive, got it?"

"I'll try my best." Katie replied before bringing the man in a hug and placing a kiss to his cheek. Soon Tony and Bruce were gone and Katie stood looking up to a wall of monitors each playing the same image from different angles. It was a satellite feed showing her brother being grabbed and tossed into a van. One thing caught her eye and it was the masked man who seemed to be leading the entire thing.

"We've come up with a couple of possibilities for where they could be keeping him." Maria said standing beside Katie. "We haven't gotten anything concrete yet."

"He's going to be at HQ." Katie spoke. "He's Pierce's insurance." she looked over to Maria who waited for her to continue. "If Pierce is anything, he's smart. He knows that I'm coming for my brother, he also knows that by now we know the truth about Project Insight. He's going to have my brother right by his side when he does it."

"Distract you from the real problem." Maria said and Katie nodded. "Will it work?" Katie looked slightly confused. "You claim to know what's important, but if the moment happens when you're going to have to prove that, will you be able to."

"You're asking me that if at some point I'm forced to choose between saving my brother and stopping Insight, which one will I choose?" Katie asked and Maria nodded. Katie's eyes went back to the monitors that were freeze on the moment her brother was grabbed. "I can't answer that." she shook her head. "Not now, not when my head and my heart have their own opinion on the matter."

"I guess it becomes a question of which one is more influential." said Maria. "Your head or your heart?"

"Well when I know, you'll know." Katie said looking over to the woman. "We should get back to the others, I'm sure a plan is already in the works." Maria nodded and both women turned and headed for the door. Katie cast one final glance to the screen as she left the room.

Matthew used the spoon from his tray and tried unscrewing the bolts from the door. It was a long shot, but at the moment was the only plan he had. There was movement on the other side of the door and he quickly jumped to his feet, grabbing the food tray and moving behind the door. He remained quiet as the door opened and in walked the guard from before. The guard seemed to be looking around the room when he turned at a whistle from behind him. Matthew swung the tray into the man's face hard, knocking him out. Once the guard hit the ground, Matthew dropped the tray and ran out of the room. He found himself in an unfamiliar hall of doors. He had no idea where he was going, but he knew he couldn't stop running. Every bone in his body ached, but his feet kept moving, especially when he suddenly heard the sounds of guards behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see if they were close. His momentary distraction had done him in when he suddenly ran into someone who pushed him off his feet. Matthew dropped to the floor on his butt and looked up to see a man standing there glaring down to him. The man's fists were clenched at his sides before he reached down and grabbed a fist full of Matthew's shirt and pulled him to his feet. Matthew glanced over to the man who was nearly dragging him down the hall, when he realized who he was. It was the masked man from before, only this time he was sans mask.

"Who are you?" Matthew asked and the man didn't says a word. "Where are you taking me?" Bucky simply glanced in Matthew's direction and simply spoke six words.

"We're going to see the boss."


	9. Chapter 9

They had a plan. It was well calculated, but there was always room for error. Katie wanted to reduce that margin as much as she could. And so she worked to perfect her part of the mission. That's why she stood in front of a monitor typing furiously. Once the final entry was entered, she stopped and let her eyes scan over the code.

"It's done!" she yelled and soon lab techs began circling. "I want that downloaded immediately." They nodded and went right to work. Katie stood there, now with nothing more to do until development was complete. She hated idle time. Because with idle time, she was left with only her thoughts and at the moment her thoughts were not keeping her calm.

"How is it coming?" A voice asked from behind her and she turned to see Clint standing there holding out a paper cup to her.

"I'm done," Katie replied taking the cup graciously. "Now I wait until it's downloaded onto the suit."

"You sure this is going to work?" Clint asked and Katie simply shrugged.

"Right now it's the only option I have with getting into HQ undetected." Katie replied. "How are the others coming along?"

"All the necessary equipment is still coming in, but it shouldn't be long before we're ready to go." Clint said. Katie nodded and they simply stood there not sure of what to say next. "So, uh what are you doing now?"

"Now, nothing but waiting." Katie replied. "Why?"

"I just thought maybe you'd like to go for a walk to... I don't know clear your head." Clint said. "You've been on edge since we got here, maybe a little fresh air will help."

"Maybe," Katie said looking around the lab seeing that everything was being taken care of before turning back to Clint. "Sure." He nodded and they both headed out of the lab to the outside of the bunker. They were walking for a while along the river in silence. It was in that moment that they both realized the awkwardness that had developed between them. After all this time had passed they didn't know how to act around each other which neither thought would ever happen.

"I'm sure Matt is going to be alright." Clint said suddenly breaking the silence. Katie glanced over to him. "I mean he's smart and very capable, if anyone can handle this situation it's him. He's like you in that way."

"You barely know my brother," Katie replied before taking a sip of her coffee. "And he has a big mouth and people with big mouths tend to get hit a lot. I'm speaking from experience." She shook her head and turned to look out to the water. "Nothing can happen to him."

"It won't." Clint said with certainty. Katie looked over to him and gave him a slight smile before turning back to the water and they stood there once again in silence. In that moment Clint stood there when the sudden urge to just touch her hit him. He knew they probably weren't there yet, that they probably wouldn't be there until after all of this craziness ended, but it didn't make that urge go away. And so on a whim, Clint slid a hand behind her back and rested it on her waist. He thought for sure she would pull away, but to his surprise she didn't, in fact she moved closer to him. Even lying her head on his shoulder. After a year and half he didn't realize how much he missed this contact until this moment when he was holding her in his arms and didn't want to let her go.

"Hey!" a voice called and both pulled a part and turned to see Natasha. "We have everything, what about you?" Katie glanced down to her watch.

"The download should almost be finished, I'll go move things along." Katie replied before hurrying back to the facility.

"Thanks Nat," Clint said walking over to the assassin. "You have impeccable timing, you know that?"

"Well once we stop millions of people from being murdered, then you and your girlfriend can go grope each other all you want." Natasha replied before turning and heading back to the facility. "We're scheduled to leave in twenty so get your shit together!" Clint simply shook his head before heading back inside to get ready.

Once the suit was ready Kate didn't waste anytime with slipping on the skin tight material. She stood in the mirror looking at herself pulling at the material in an effort to make it more comfortable. It was no use. She shook her head at the sight of herself.

"Looks like something Natasha would wear." She muttered before reaching down and zipping up her boots. She pulled on her jacket before giving herself one final look over then turning and leaving the small bathroom. Katie walked out to see Clint talking to Hill before his eyes turned to her. He was momentarily stunned, before he cleared his throat and composed himself. Maria followed his eyes and simply shook her head.

"Kind of tight isn't it?" Maria asked and Katie sent the woman a glare.

"You think," Katie quipped before walking over to the two. "It has to be to work." she looked over to Clint whose eyes were still trailing over her body. "Eyes up here Bart." the man's brought his eyes back up to her eyes. "Where are the others?"

"Already in route." Clint replied and Katie nodded. "You ready to go?" Katie nodded again before turning to Maria.

"Good luck." Said Agent Hill before looking over to the door. They all turned to see Fury limping over to them.

"I thought you two would be gone by now." Fury said looking between Katie and Clint. "I don't have to tell you how important timing is to this mission."

"No sir." Clint said falling into the role of the good soldier easily. He glanced over to Katie who simply rolled her eyes before looking to the former director.

"Is everything in place?" Katie asked and Fury nodded. "Good, then there's no time to waste." she turned to Clint. "Let's move out." and without another word the woman walked around the director right for the door.

"Agent Barton—"

"Don't worry sir," Clint said glancing over to the director. "I will look out for her."

"That's not what I was going to say." Fury said. "Sparrow has her own mission whether we like it or not and trying to stop her could end badly for you."

"What are you trying to say?"

"He's saying it's time we stopped seeing her as the helpless lab tech," Maria explained. "She can handle herself and it's time to treat her as such."

"She's not your mission Agent Barton," Fury added. "Do you understand?"

"I do understand," Clint said with a slight nod. "I'm just not sure I agree." Clint was finished with this conversation and so he turned and left as well.

"I think it's too late for him." Fury commented as he watched the agent walk away. "He truly has been compromised."

"I think it's sweet." Maria said with a smile as she glanced over to the director who simply shook his head before walking away. Hill simply chuckled before following after him.

Katie strapped herself into the plane and looked up to see Clint standing just outside. This was where they would part ways for the time being.

"How long will the cloaking function last again?" Clint asked for the tenth time since he was informed about the suit.

"I already told you, I have a 10 minute window, which is more than enough time to meet you on the twentieth floor." She saw the worry in his eyes and placed a hand on his arm. "Look as long as every one does what they're supposed to do, everything will be fine." Clint nodded before pulling away, but Katie caught his arm.

"What?" he asked suddenly worried again.

"Be careful and—" she smiled. "Don't die."

"You too." Clint replies placing a hand on her cheek. After a moment Clint stepped back and slapped the side of the chopper and before he knew it he was watching her lift up into the sky. He only stood there for a moment before turning and rushing to the SUV that was waiting for him. He climbed into the backseat where he found Hill and Fury. They both gave him a look before Fury looked up to the driver.

"Let's move out!" Fury yelled and soon the vehicle was moving.

Katie sat on the plane, her eyes closed as she thought over the plan. She didn't know why. She already knew what she had to do, but for some reason just had to keep going over and over it to make sure she had it down pact.

"Hawkeye, checking in." Katie heard from the comlink in her ear. She opened her eyes and lifted her head. "Sparrow, what's your ETA?" Katie looked up to the pilot who held up a hand.

"Five minutes." She replied and he could hear it. The subtle change in her voice. She was nervous.

"Spa- Kat what's wrong?" Clint asked and Katie simply shook her head.

"Everything is happening right on schedule Hawkeye, I'll contact you when I make it to the drop." Katie replied dropping her hand and letting her head fall back against the side of the plane.

Matthew wasn't sure where he was. The masked man had dragged him into another dark room where he stayed for for a while before the door finally swung open. He held up an arm to block the sudden light the shined into the room.

"Matthew Banks," A deep voice said a slight amusement evident. "I have to say you've proved very impressive. Not a lot of people could go through what you've gone through and still stand to tell about it."

"What, this is nothing compared to pledge week back in college." Matthew said sliding up the wall to stand.

"Funny," the man replied. Matthew dropped his arm to see a man dressed in a gray suit. "I guess you and your sister share the same bad sense of humor."

"Birds of a feather I guess." Matthew said pushing himself from the wall. "So I figured this was about my sister. I guess it's only fair to tell you that it won't work."

"Oh really?" the man asked. "And why is that?"

"Because she won't let it." Matthew replied. "With all this time, she's thought this through. She's not going to let you win."

"I'm not aiming to win little brother." The man said with a slight chuckle. "I just want what belongs to me." and with that the man turned and headed for the door.

"Who are you?" Matthew called.

"Call me Al" Pierce said before leaving the confused man to sit in his dark room.

Before any mission it is important to clear your mind of all interfering thoughts. In Katie's case this would be difficult since her entire being was filled with worry. But as she sat on that plane she closed her eyes and took deep breaths.

"Sparrow, you're a go." the pilot said. Katie opened her eyes and nodded before unstrapping herself from the seat.

"This is Sparrow, we've reached the drop." Katie said walking over to the opening of the plane slipping on her gloves and slipping the suits ski mask over her face.

"Is everyone in place?"

"Widow in place."

"Captain in place."

"Falcon in place."

There was a long silence and Katie lifted her head as they awaited the last voice. Suddenly the worry she'd been trying to keep under control was bubbling back to the surface.

"Sorry," Clint's voice finally spoke. "We caught traffic. Hawk in place."

"Everyone knows what they're doing?" Steve asked and received all affirmatives. "Alright, good luck and god speed."

Katie's eyes went to the large building below her and she could feel her heart ramming in her chest. She wished there was another way for her to get in. A way that kept her feet on land.

"I don't think I thought is all the way through." Katie muttered as she held onto the sides of the opening. "Is it too late for a reboot plan?"

"Sparrow, you'll be fine." Clint said. "Just jump."

Katie took a couple of deep breaths before stretching a bit. She decided it was now or never and so she pushed herself from the plane and let her self free fall. All she heard was the whistling of the wind passing her ears and hitting her face. She held her arms out wide as she got closer to the building. Soon the building came into reach and she activated the suits cloaking device before slapping against the window. The suction function of the gloves and knee pads activated letting Katie stick to the window.

"I never want to do that again." Katie muttered as she looked around the side of the building. "Sparrow in place, hows the cloaking holding up?"

"You're good." Hill's voice spoke. "Invisible, but not for long so keep going."

Katie nodded before climbing up the side of the building. She didn't dare look down because she knew she'd freak out at the sight of being so far from the ground.

Clint walked through the front doors of SHIELD, his head held high as he walked up to the employee entrance. It was him to get the lay of the land before going to meet back up with Katie. He walked in and it was as if nothing was different. As if an evil organization hadn't taken control. With a shake of his head he headed for the employee entrance scanning his badge before he waited for the guards to let him in. The guards looked down to the monitor before looking back to Clint, and he could tell from their faces that he wasn't just going to walk in.

"Agent Barton," One of the guards said standing to his feet. "I think you're going to have to come with me."

"That won't be necessary." a new voice said and they all turned to see Agent Rick Mason. "I think the boss will be happy to see you Hawk." he glanced over to the guards. "I'll take him from here." Mason grabbed Clint's arm and began pulling him toward the elevator. "You have a lot of nerve showing up here." Mason forcefully pushed Clint into the elevator before walking inside as well. As soon as the doors closed Clint took a step toward the man and Mason quickly raised his hands in surrender. "Hey now, I'm part of team end all the bullshit." Clint looked over to the man confused before taking another step and grabbing the man's arm before pinning it behind his back. "Really Hawk if I was really the bad guy do you really think I would let you beat me?"

"Let me?" Clint snarled in the man's ear and Mason let out a throaty laugh.

"There you go thinking you and I are actually a match" Rick replied before curling a leg around Clint's leg bending it before snapping his head back. Clint stumbled back before looking up to see Mason now point a 9mm at him. "You're going to have to climb a few more steps before you're on my level kid. Now chill, I'm the inside man."

"Inside man?" Clint asked. "Fury never said anything—"

"You mean Fury didn't share his entire plan with you, I'm shocked!" Rick said sarcastically. "You know him, doesn't do or say anything that could jeopardize the mission. If you knew I was helping then maybe you or your girlfriend would react in a way not conducive to the success of this mission, like I don't know attacking me in an elevator." Rick held the gun steady with one hand before reaching over and pressing the button for the twentieth floor. Clint looked over to the button before turning back to Rick. "Like it or not I am your life line here. Now reach up into that shaft above your head." Clint looked suspiciously to the shaft before glaring back over to Rick. "You want to waste time looking at me or do you want to grab your girl's clothes?" Clint climbed on the rail up to the shaft pushing it open and retrieving a black duffel bag. He jumped back to the floor and zipped open the bag to find what looked like a field agent uniform. "Can I put the gun away or do you still not believe me."

"If it turns out you're lying—"

"I know you'll attempt to beat me up again." Rick said holstering his gun and turning to the doors.

"So what's your importance to this mission?" Clint asked turning to the doors.

"Katie." Rick replied and Clint had to fight the urge to just punch the guy. He looked over to see a smirk on the man's face. Once the doors opened Rick stepped out and walked down the hall, Clint not far behind him.

"You mind elaborating before I kick you in the balls?" Clint asked coming along side the man. He dropped his head as they passed agents coming from the opposite direction. Once the coast was clear he looked back over to the agent awaiting an answer.

"Sorry Hawk, you have your mission I have mine and sharing with the class does not happen now." Said Rick before walking into what seemed like a small conference room. Clint walked in behind him about to press the issue even more, but stopped when he saw the change of expression on the man's face.

"What's wrong?" Clint asked.

"She's not here." Rick said looking down to his watch. "She's late. She can't be late not when there are agents casing every inch of this place." he looked back over to Clint. "We have schedules for a reason. In five minutes is the next sweep of this floor and your girlfriend is late!" Clint held up a hand to shut the man up before turning and pressing a hand to the comlink.

"Sparrow, I'm at the rendezvous point and you're not."

"Yeah there's a reason for that." Katie said hanging up high as the wind blew fiercely past her.

"And what's that?" Clint asked.

"I looked down." Katie replied her eyes to the land and water just below her. One false move or misstep and she was dead.

"Damnit!" Clint cursed before walking over to the window and sliding it open. He didn't want her to do this. He knew she had a thing about heights and knew this would be too much. "Kat look up." her eyes seemed to be glued down. "Kat, please just look up." Katie reluctantly brought her eyes up to see Clint just a few feet away. "I'm right here, now climb up." she didn't move, frozen in fear. "Just come to me," he held out a hand toward her and to his relief she started climbing. "That's it you're almost there."

"Tell her to move faster." Rick complained coming up beside him. Clint simply pushed the man away with his other hand. "Fine, we all get caught it's on you."

"Will you just keep watch!" Clint growled glaring over to the man. "Go!" Rick simply held up his hands and walked over to the door to keep an eye out. Clint turned back to see Katie still climbing up the wall. "That's it, just keep moving. I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere," she glanced up to meet his eyes and he could see her picking up the pace. "I promise." a few more steps and her hand reached up to grab Clint's and with one strong tug he pulled her through the window into his arms.

"I'm so never doing that again." Katie said letting out a sigh of relief to have her feet once again on the ground. She looked back up to Clint who still had his arms wrapped around her waist. She placed her hands on his arms before a noise startled her. She turned to see a face she didn't expect to see.

"What the—" she pulled from Clint's arms and turned to Rick about to attack when Clint grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Sorry to interrupt your little reunion, but we need to move." Rick said looking over to Katie who simply glared. "Not you too, look—" he picked up the duffel and tossed it to her. "Get changed," he turned to Clint. "You explain to her how I'm not the enemy here." and with that Rick turned and left the room.

"Ok, so what the fuck was that?" Katie asked turning to Clint. "The last time I saw him I kicked him in the balls for crossing me, what the hell is he doing here."

"Apparently he's with us." Clint said with a shrug. "I'm not sure but for right now he's saying all the right things so I don't think he's lying. He knows too much." Katie sighed before unzipping the bag. "We don't have much time." Katie nodded before dropping the bag and pulling out the clothes. She stood up straight about to unzip the suit when she saw Clint's eyes trained on her.

"I'm sorry a year and a half of nothing sort of prohibits peep shows." Katie said with a slight smirk. "You understand right?" Clint simply nodded before turning his back to her. He may not be able to see her, but the sound of her unzipping the suit didn't stop his wandering imagination.

Rick stood in the hall when he heard the distant sound of voices. He was about turn and storm back into the room to hurry things along when the door swung open and out walked Clint and Katie who was now dressed in the uniform.

"Took your sweet time didn't you worm?" Rick asked as he began walking down the hall, Katie and Clint on either side of him. "I was this close to leaving both your asses."

"How fortunate we are." Katie quipped sarcastically. "I have one of the server blades, where's Pierce?" 

"Probably up in his castle about to release the kraken." Rick said. "But that's not where you're going." Katie and Clint looked over to the man confused.

"Excuse me?" Clint said moving to stand in front of the man. "Start talking."

"Fine, since we're all here." Rick replied. "I'm taking worm here to get her brother, you're taking that blade to the carrier." he looked between the two. "Any more questions because a lot of people are going to die if you guys want to stand here to debate this."

"Look you-"

"Bart, here." Katie said handing the server blade to Clint.

"Kat—"

"Fury knew what I needed to do and he planned around it." Katie replied.

"Except I'm not—" Clint glared over to Rick before grabbing Katie and pulling her away, bringing her back against the wall. "I'm not leaving you alone with this asshole."

"I can handle Mason," Katie said. "And he's right, we don't have time to debate this or come up with another plan."

"Why does this plan have to separate us?" Clint asked and Katie sighed before placing a hand on his cheek. "You're emotional and—"

"You don't see it do you?" Katie asked. "Yes I'm emotional, yes I'm too close to this, but I know logic and no matter how emotional I get, in the end I always fall to logic. This will be no different."

"Can you make out later?" Mason said and Katie and Clint ignored him.

"Don't worry, I'll have you in my ear and I'll be in yours." Katie replied. There were voices and footsteps in the distance, but Katie and Clint simply stood there staring at one another.

"Seriously!" Rick whispered loudly. "Move your ass!" Clint slid his hands from Katie waist before sending a glare to the man.

"Here." Katie said handing him the server blade. Clint took it and slipped into his vest pocket before turning to Rick. Neither said anything, seemingly having a silent conversation that didn't need to be verbalized. Clint’s glare was all the warning Rick was going to get before he turned and walked down the opposite hall.

"How do we find Matthew?" Katie asked and Rick turned to her.

"Already done." Rick says before stalking down the adjoining hall, Katie close behind him. "Your brother's being kept on lock-down tight on twenty four. That's also where I've spotted our Loch Ness monster."

"The Winter Soldier?" Katie asked and Rick nodded. "Why would he—" Rick glanced over to her.

"He seems to be Pierce's muscle, look worm I don't know what's happened to your brother, but if this Winter Soldier is involved I wouldn't guess it's good." Rick said as they stepped onto the elevator. "You find your key to the city in the bag?" Katie unzipped her jacket and pulled out a tablet. "I guess it's your move then worm." they watched the numbers increasing and soon the number twenty four illuminated and the doors slid open to reveal a baron hall. "This doesn't look right." They both stepped off of the elevator and looked around, but didn't see a single person. "Let's just move." Rick took a step but Katie reached forward and grabbed his arm stopping him.

"This is a trap," Katie said. Suddenly the static of the intercom sounded and they both lifted their heads.

" _Attention, all SHIELD agents. This is Steve Rogers._ " Steve's voice sounded from above them. ""Y _ou've heard a lot about me and my friends over the last few days, some of you were even ordered to hunt us down. But I think it's time you know the truth. SHIELD is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by HYDRA._ " Katie and Rick share a look before they hear a noise. Both look around to see agents suddenly appearing from where ever they were hiding. _"Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building."_

"I didn't know part of the plan was publicly pissing off the enemy." Rick said taking out a gun and handing it to Katie before grabbing his own and holding it up.

_"They could be standing right next to you."_

"Or stalking toward you in a menacing fashion." Katie said slipping the tablet back in to her jacket and raising her gun.

 _"They almost have what they want: absolute control. They shot Nick Fury and it won't end there. If you launch those Helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way, unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high, it always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay_." There was a clicking sound and both Katie and Rick turned to see a familiar figure walking toward them.

"Shit, did not expect him." Rick said now gripping his gun. He aimed it toward the Winter Soldier, but to his surprise Katie placed a hand onto of his gun and pushed it how.

" _And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not."_

"What the fuck are you doing, are you crazy?" Rick asked looking between her and Bucky as he walked over to stand in front of them.

"Not crazy," Katie said her eyes watching Bucky closely as she hands her gun back to Rick. "Just thinking logically."

"And you see this as logical?" Rick asked angrily before pushing her back and placing himself in front of Bucky before raising his gun, but before he could even put a finger on the trigger, Bucky grabbed his wrist and twisted it causing the man to drop the gun to the floor. Bucky was about to throw a punch, but Katie moved forward.

"Don't!" Katie yelled and he looked over to her. "I'm here, that's what you were expecting right? I'm part of the plan, he's not. Just let him go."

"Katie don't!" Rick moved but Bucky simply twisted his wrist. "He will kill you."

"I don't think so." Katie replied. "If he wanted me dead I would be already. He wants something else, or at least Pierce wants something from me and unless I give it to him they won't let go of my brother." Katie placed a hand on the hand Bucky was using to hold Rick's wrist. "I’m here, where do you want me to go?" Bucky looked at her for a moment in silence before glancing to Rick as he let go of his wrist and grabbed Katie's arm and pulled her with him.

"Katie!" Rick called about to go after her but the guards held him back.

"I heard stories about you Mason!" Katie called unable to turn to him. "Back up that ego of yours!" Rick watched as they got further and further down the hall before turning and disappearing from sight. He could feel his blood boiling as he looked to the guards surrounding him, some familiar faces, some not.

"I guess this is the part of the story where I prove the stories you've heard about me are actually true." Rick said his hands clenched at his side.

Katie and Bucky walked down the hall in silence as he forcefully pulled her. She glanced over to him ever so often looking up to his eyes that were focused up ahead.

"It was that machine, right?" Katie asked. She awaited an answer but as expected she didn't get one. "I remember bits and pieces of my time in the BLACK, but I remember that room and that chair." she felt his grasp tighten around her arm. Someone smart would stop talking when they recognized that what they were saying was not something he wanted to hear. Someone smarter would realize that it's the things we don't want to hear that we need to hear the most. "It was scary and I could feel—" she shook her head. "I was losing control." she looked back over to him. "That's what happened to you, isn't it?" He didn't say anything but she could see his expression change. He was listening just not saying anything. "It took a while, but I realized that they didn't. Their power didn't come from some device that warped my mind, it was making me believe that some device could warp my mind." She stopped her feet and moved to place herself in front of him. "They didn't take your control Bucky, they simply made you believe they could. All you have to do is fight to get through it." Bucky looked down to her eyes and for a moment she thought she'd gotten through to him. He still didn't say a word, but instead walked around her and pushed open a door before moving aside. The door lead to a dark room and Katie looked over to him confused before walking up suspiciously. She squinted her eyes to see something and noticed something curled up in the corner of the room. "What—" a moan sounded from that corner and her eyes widened. "Matt!" she quickly ran inside dropping to her knees beside her brother. It was too dim to see his face, but she could feel bruises and cuts. "Say something!"

"Took you long enough." Matthew said weakly. Katie leaned forward and placed a kiss on his forehead.

"We need to get him to a—" She turned her head just in time to see the door swing closed. "Bucky?" she stood to her feet and tried to find the door in the dark room. She found the knob and twisted it with no success. "Bucky, don't do this, open the door!" she got no response as she banged the door. "Is somebody there!" still nothing. She turned and place a hand on the comlink in her ear. "Clint, can you hear me?" she heard static and what sounded like Clint's voice, but it was too distorted to make out. "Clint, please!" frustrated she ripped the comlink from her ear and threw it to the ground before going back over to her brother. "Don't worry, I'm going to get us out of here." she lifted her head for something, anything to make that statement true. She looked down when she didn't get a response. "Matthew?" She wished there was light, even just a little, so she could see his face. "Mattie, talk to me." she could feel the anxiety growing in her chest. She didn't know why but it felt like she was suffocating. Each breath she took didn't seem to be making it to her lungs as she shook her brother with no response. "Mattie!" All she got in the darkness was silence. And that silence felt like a knife through her heart. "Mattie," she whispered. "Mattie, please don't leave me."


	10. Chapter 10

Recalculating. That's what Katie was doing as she held her motionless brother's body in her arms. She didn't include this in her calculations... she didn't expected the unexpected and now she was paying for it. He had a pulse and that little thump she felt in his wrist was her hope that there was still a chance to get out of this.

"There has to be a way out of here, right?" She asked out loud hoping that talking to Matthew somehow kept him with her. She looked around the dark room unable to make anything out. It made the fear and the worry grow, so much so that it began manifesting itself in her chest. A heat began growing over her chest that was hot, like really—

"Wait, that's not normal." Katie muttered when she heard three beeps and that's when she realized what she'd forgotten. Katie unzipped her jacket and pulled out the tablet Rick had given her. "My key to the city." she smiled slightly. "I'm so going to kiss you Rick Mason." she sat Matthew on the ground before swiping away on the tablet. She got into the SHIELD mainframe and brought up virtual map of the building. She tracked the tablet's internal beacon and found out where exactly she was. "Ok there we are and...yes." the lock to the door was computer operated, which meant it could be hacked. "Just hold on Mattie." Katie said standing to her feet and walking over to the door. "I'm going to get us out of here."

Clint ran down the hall as gun shots flew past him. He glanced over his shoulder to see that the men behind him were not letting up.

"This is Hawkeye, I'm pinned down, how much time do we have?" he asked into his comlink as he turned down a corner.

"Ten minutes." Maria Hill replied. "How far away from the launch zone are you?" Clint stood with his back pinned against the wall as he peeked down to where guards stood posted outside of Insight's launch area.

"I'm looking at the door." Clint whispered. "Is there any word on Mason or Sparrow?"

"Neither one have checked in with their status." Hill replied. "Barton-"

"I know the mission." Clint says before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a miniature explosive and rolling it down the hall. He dipped behind the wall until he heard the explosion and after that he was running toward the door. Once inside, there weren't as many guards as he expected and getting them out of his way wasn't too hard. The only issue he saw were the carriers beginning to ascend. "I think your time line may be a little off."

"Damn it, Pierce must have launched a head of time." Hill said. "Are you able to get onto the carrier?"

"Yeah," Clint says as he pick up his speed as he heads to the carrier. "If I jump really high I guess."

"Well fly on Hawkeye." Hill replied when she spots HYDRA agents shooting their way into the command post she was currently residing. She stood to her feet as she pulled out her gun and shot the first intruder. The second ran inside, but was shot instantly, only not with her gun. Maria looked slightly confused when another man appeared, this one she recognized. "Mason, what are you doing here?" she looked over the man who looked completely battered. "And where's Sparrow?" Rick didn't say anything as he climbed the stairs and headed straight for the computer. "Mason!"

"I will find her!" Rick snapped looking over to Maria.

"No, she was your mission and you failed. There is no time for some spur of the moment rescue mission." Maria replied. "Time's running out."

"Alpha Carrier locked:" Clint's voice spoke through the comlink. "I'm about to head up to join the party with the Captain."

"Copy." Maria replies.

"Any word on Mason or Sparrow?" Clint asked again and this time Maria looked over to Rick who was typing away.

"Mason's here." Maria said and the agent looked over to her. "Sparrow is MIA." Clint didn't say anything and Maria wondered if they'd lost the connection. "Hawkeye do you copy?"

"Yeah, I copy," Clint spoke. "I'm finding her."

"Hawkeye, your mission was clear—"

"And I've completed it. Now the importance is preventing as many casualties and getting as many people out of here, which I plan on doing as I find her." Clint replied defiantly.

"Fine, check in when you've found her." Maria replied before looking over to Rick. "Clint's going after her, you've failed." she reached and pulled out her spare weapon and tossed it to Mason. "There are a lot of guns upstairs, go try and stop it." Mason caught the gun and turned back to the monitor. "Mason, there's still a big picture here and it's covered with the faces of the millions of dead people that carrier is going to kill if it gets into the air." Mason simply shook his head before hurrying out of the room.

Katie looked down to the tablet and typed a couple of more keys. She grumbled at how long it was taking her. She figured after all this time, codes and access points had been changed. It took a while, but soon the screen she needed appeared.

"Alright." Katie says before typing in one final code and suddenly the door pops open. She smiles wide before sliding the tablet back into her jacket. "Alright, Mattie, we're getting out of here." she turned and reached down and tried picking up her brother. It was at this moment she realized just how heavy he was. "Dude, what have you been eating?" she bent down and grabbed his arm bringing it around her neck before using all the strength she had with picking him up. All of his weight seemed to be pressed into her side, but she held up. She took a deep breath before practically dragging him out of the room. The sound of gun fire didn't go unnoticed as she walked down the hall. She kept her eyes up and watching, hoping she wasn't walking into the middle of a fire fight. Right now her only concern was getting her brother out of this building and to a hospital.

"You know when I first met you I thought you were a very weird kid," she said as she struggled to hold his weight. More guns shots were fired and she had no idea where they were coming from. "And then I got to know you and I realized that you were a very weird kid, but that I'm weird too and having someone to be weird with didn't suck so much." she looked over her shoulder to her unconscious brother whose head simply hung on her shoulder. "So if you can hear me right now I'm going to need you to just hold on a little longer, because I need my weird little brother." There was an elevator at the end of he hall and she hoped that it could lead to their salvation. She tried adjusting her brother's weight as she moved as quickly as she could toward the elevator. Her feet only stopped when the elevator bell rang when she hadn't even touched it. The doors slide open and appeared an agent. HYDRA or SHIELD... she wasn't sure.

"No you listen, there is no way out. We have to evacuate now!" His eyes landed on her and the moment his hand went for his gun her question was answered.

"Worm down!" a voice called from behind them. Katie didn't take anytime to look, she wrapped her arms around her brother and dropped to the floor. She closed her eyes as she heard the bullets fly above them. Once they stopped she heard footsteps coming closer. "You alright?" she opened her eyes to see Rick looking down to her.

"Yeah." Katie says before looking over to her brother. "Help me with him?" Rick looked over to Matthew's unconscious body and seemed hesitant. "He's still alive, we just need to get him to a hospital." Mason nodded before grabbing one of the man's arm while Katie grabbed the other and brought him to his feet. They carried him toward the elevator and waited for the doors open. "So did we win yet?" Rick looked over to her.

"Two carriers down, but one is still active." Rick replied and Katie looked back with wide eyes. "I think the captain's trying to get the blade in, but it's not looking good." Katie closed her eyes and sighed.

"How much time do we have?" Katie asked.

"I don't know, last I heard it was down to only a few minutes." Rick replied watching Katie. She was planning something. "What's going on in that head of yours, worm?" the elevator doors slid open and Katie looked over to Mason. "Katie?"

"If he's too late and INSIGHT gets into motion he won't be able to stop it." Katie replied she slid from under Matthew's grasp, letting his weight fall to Mason who didn't seem too effected. "I have to be there in case things go south."

"C'mon, Pierce probably created a back up plan just to prevent that." Rick replied. "That's why your brother is here. He knew you would be and knew you could be a threat, he-"

"Needed me distracted meaning I'm probably still a threat." Katie says before placing a hand on the side of her brother's head. "Get him out of here and to a hospital." she placed a kiss on Matthew's forehead before looking to Mason and placing a kiss to his cheek.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"For giving my key," she looked over to Matthew. "You probably don't know this but you saved us." she smiled and looked to Rick once again. "Thanks." with that she turned and ran down the hall.

"You have no weapons!" he yelled after her. "And this place is filled with bad guys who do!"

"Don't worry, I'll be ok!" Katie called not turning around.

"I'm telling Hawk you kissed me!" he said, but she didn't say anything. He looked over to Matthew and shook his head. "Your sister is insane," he stepped on the elevator with Matthew in tow. "But she is something."

Maria let out a sigh of relief when she spotted Katie carrying her brother on one of the screens. But that relief turned to confusion when she saw Mason appear and save the pair, before Katie handed over her brother and and run in the other direction. She would've asked Mason, but it would seem he too was without a comlink.

"We have these things for a reason." Maria muttered before accessing the elevator's intercom system. "Where's you com?" Mason looked up and spotted the camera in the corner of the ceiling.

"You know I don't like things in my ears Hill." Mason replied before a cocky smile. "Well I like some things in my ear, but I'll tell you about that later."

"Please do, it'll give me a reason to kick your ass." Maria said. "Now where the hell is Sparrow going?"

"Up to help the captain." Mason said. "She said that if he's unable to insert the server blade, she wants to be there to try and manually override it."

"The damn things already in the air." Maria replied. "How is she going to get to it?"

"I'm sure she'll find a way." Mason said before looking over to Matthew. "Right now I need a medic asap, you think you could set something up?"

"I'm sure there's something I can do." Maria said before taking out her mobile device and sending out a message for a medic to be waiting outside of the building.

Katie was once again running. It was the one things she knew she was good at. Though, her feet came to a halt when bullets flew right past her head. She dipped back, pressing her back firmly against the wall.

"I know that's you Sparrow!" a voice called but she didn't recognize the voice. "I thought you would've been dead by now."

"Well you can't always get what you want!" Katie called back when more bullet flew in her direction. She reached into her jacket and pulled out her tablet. She began pulling up the building‘s sprinkler system and when she found the point she needed all she had to do was hit the green activate button and suddenly water was falling from the sky.

"What the—" Katie tossed the tablet to the floor before looking around the corner to see the agent looking up to the ceiling in a state of confusion and that's all she needed.

"Now or never." Katie thought before running from behind the wall. The man looked over just as she came close to him. In a last attempt to gain control he aimed his gun, but Katie threw her leg up kicking it out of his hand. He threw a punch toward her head but she ducked before slamming her elbow into his chest. He stumbled back but before he could gain his composure, she kicked him hard in the chest causing him to slam against the wall. She watched as his body simply slid to the floor. "Distractions are your worst enemy." she said the man's motionless body before turning to run, but the moment she lifted her head she saw another HYDRA agent standing just a couple of feet in front of her, the barrel of his gun aimed right for her head.

"Good advice," he said his hand gripping the gun. "Too bad—" the man's words seemed to be ripped from his mouth when an arrow shot right through his chest. She watched as the man's gun dropped from his hand before he collapsed to the floor. Katie's eyes lifted to see Clint standing, his bow in hand. They stood there for a moment looking at one another before Katie walked over to him.

"That was an awesome shot." Katie said still looking to Clint with slight awe. Clint shook his head before placing a hand on her waist and pulling her close to him. She placed her hands on his chest. "I would love to have this moment, but there's no time."

"What are you talking about?" Clint asked.

"There's still one carrier active." Katie replied.

"And the Captain's handling it." Clint said.

"And if he can't then there has to be a back up plan." she replied stepping out of Clint's grasp. "I'm the back up plan." she grabbed his hand. "C'mon, I might need your bow."

"God, I wish you were being suggestive right now." Clint groaned as he let her pull him toward the stairwell that lead to the room. It only took a couple of flights before they were bursting through the doors of the roof to see the carrier hovering in the air. "How are you going to get up there?" he looked over Katie who glanced down to his bow.

"You brought Beatrice." Katie said looking down to Clint's bow.

"How did you-"

"Know you name your bow and arrows like a weirdo?" Katie asked. "Because you're not the only one good at spying on people." she placed a hand on the bow. "I know this arrow can get me from here to there."

"Yeah and I know that you just had a melt down climbing the side of this building, and now you're talking about repelling from an even greater distance to a carrier that's moving. Clint said with a firm shake of his head. "But the best part is that in the slight chance that you're successful you have a limited amount of time before Hill sets them to self destruct." Katie shook her head. "The answer is no." she grabbed the bow from his hand and pulled but he held on tight. "Kat, what are you—" he pulled even more, only for her to place her hand on top of his. The touch of her fingers on his skin made totally fall out of the moment and Katie used his distraction to pull the bow from his hands. "That was not playing fair." he reached for the bow but she jumped back out of reach.

"Bart, right now adrenaline is coursing through my veins, there's no fear anywhere." she said. "There's just a carrier over there about to murder a bunch people soon if we don't stop it in time." she leaned forward pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I know what I'm doing, trust me."

"How can I when you say that even when you don't know what you're doing?" Clint asked and Katie smiled before looking down to the bow. "The code is—" she had already typed in a few numbers activating the bow's zip line function. "I hate when you do that."

"No you don't, you love when I break your codes." she said giving him a wink before running to the edge of the roof. She rose the bow, aiming it toward the hellicarrier. The rise and fall of her chest slowed as she closed one eye. She mentally counted to three before shooting the arrow and hitting the side of the carrier. She wrapped the rope around her arm tight before stepping onto the ledge of the room.

"Don't fall!" Clint called and she glared over her shoulder to him. "Come back."

"You couldn't keep me away." Katie replied before turning and jumping off the edge of the building. Clint ran to the edge to see Katie swing toward the carrier before hitting the side with a bang.

"Hawkeye?" Maria spoke through the comlink.

"Yeah, I found Sparrow." Clint replied already knowing what she was going to ask. "She's going to assist the Captain. Give him a heads up."

"I would but he's busy at the moment," Maria replied. "He's having a little reunion with an old friend." Clint stood there confused for a moment before realizing what she was saying. He peered over the side of the building to see Katie climbing up the rope into the carrier.

The moment Katie climbed inside of the carrier, she looked up to the massive space. The place was huge, but she could see the blade station up above her. She jumps and grabs the walkway above her. She keeps at it until she reaches the very last one and pulls herself up and runs toward the station.

"Drop it!" Katie hears a voice yell. She turns to see Steve and Bucky in an intense battle, both seeming equally matched. She spots the blade in Bucky's hand and her first instinct is to get Steve's attention so he can try to toss it to her. She decides against that idea since distracting Steve right now probably wasn't the best idea. Steve gets Bucky into head lock until the man passes out and that's when she decides to make her presence known.

"Steve!" Katie yells as the man stands to his feet. "Hurry!" Steve nods before jumping on the side of the bridge and pulling himself up. She runs over to him as he tries to place the blade into the station. The moment his hand moves a shot is fired. They both turn to see Bucky now on his feet a gun in his hands. He fires another shot, this on hitting Steve.

"Steve!" Katie yells trying to catch the man who collapses to the floor. Her attempt to catch him is useless and they both fall to the floor. It's then that Katie sees the blood seeping from his gut. "No!" She looks over her shoulder to see Bucky making his way toward them. "Shit!" she looks down to Steve's hand to find it empty. He dropped it. She looked around trying to find the blade, but it was nowhere in sight. "Shit, fuck, shit!" she quickly stood to her feet to see the rest of the blades aligned and in that moment luck had to be on her side. She realized that the chip's pattern looked familiar. "Wait, I know this." she reached up and to anyone watching her would see her begin plucking seamlessly random blades from the station. But there was a reason to her madness. It was their placement that made them work and removing just a few blades could throw the entire thing off course. But you had to recognize that the blades that shared many similarities had differences and that only specific blades could be removed for this to work. She's only removed about eight, before the entire thing turned itself off.

"Katie," Steve moaned in pain as he made his way to his feet.

"Steve, it's done, let Hill know it' done." Katie said looking over to Steve.

"Charlie locked!" Steve said into him comlink. Katie watched as he listened to Maria before turning back to her. "You have to get out of here!" Steve grabbed her arm and pulled her with him.

"Steve, what are you doing?" Katie asked trying to pull out of the man's grasp, but even for a wounded soldier he was strong. "We need to get out of here together!" Steve eyes looked down to see Bucky pinned under fallen rubble.

"He doesn't die here alone," Steve said and Katie looked over to see Bucky as well. "I owe him more than that."

"Steve—"

"We're not that far, you can jump it." Steve said pulling her, but she pulled back.

"I probably could, but I would spend the rest of my life at this moment. Seeing you risk your life when it isn't necessary. There is another way." Steve turned his head as he listened to Maria who told him that he needed to get out of there before she activated the destruct mode on the carriers.

"Katie, you're getting out of here!" Steve said pulling her, but she slipped out of his grasp.

"No, I'm not. You're not leaving without your friend, and I'm not leaving without mine, so lets get a move on!" Katie turned and jumped over the bridge to the windows below them. She hears Steve behind her and she looks over to him, this time he doesn't try to stop her.

"This place is about to be destroyed and—"

"It's not over yet," Katie interrupts. "I've survived being plopped into the middle of another realm, I can handle a little gunfire." as if on cue gun fire erupts throwing Katie off of her feet. She lands just a couple of feet from Bucky whose still pinned under debris. She looks up to him and for a brief moment, while surrounded by chaos they look to one another. Katie feels something on her forehead and then it's on her eyes. It isn't until she looks down to the glass she's lying on to see blood dripping and it's coming from her. She casts one final glance over to Bucky who she swears looks as if he's trying to free himself from the rubble. She never gets a chance to see if her suspicions were right because after his face came the darkness trying to overtake her.

It all seemed like a dream. That sounds very cliche, but it did. It was as if Katie was there, but wasn't there at the same time. It doesn't make sense, but nothing about the events of that day did. She was rolling around the carrier, Bucky and Steve were there and they seemed to be talking, but then fighting..were they fighting? Consciousness was hard to hold onto, but it wasn't the only thing. Soon she felt like she was flying. She could feel the wind on her skin and she could honestly say she wasn't afraid and so she finally just gave into the darkness.

**Thirty six hours later...**

Was there country music in heaven? It seemed like a strange question, but when the wailing sound of some poor soul singing about how some guy name Billy broke her heart at Walgreens, it seemed like a logical question. Katie's next question was why did her head feel like it had been sat on by an elephant. She knew none of her questions would be answered until she opened her eyes and so she did and saw the last person she thought she would see.

"Bucky?" Katie asked and he glanced over to her. She took her eyes off of him to see that they were driving in what looked like an old pick up truck. Outside she saw nothing but trees and that only made her worry more. She turned back to Bucky who seemed to be trying to split his attention between her and the road. "Are you kidnapping me?" he simply sighed before turning back to the road. "Well is that a yes?"


	11. Chapter 11

_For those of you that are just tuning in, we're sitting here talking with Professor Laura Connolly of Stanford University and Dr. Jeffrey Hamilton, author of, "Lies from the White House”. I want to once again thank you two for talking with us and helping us understand all this hoopla we've been seeing on the tv and on the internet. Many people have no idea the implications of these recent events."_

" _And that's why I want people to go out and get my new book. It's not about the money or fame, it's about doing what the government doesn't want done and that's the American people being informed."_

" _Professor Connolly teaches a course on the ever changing government climate. What are your thought's on this recent internet revelation and all this craziness about secret government agencies that have been working right under our noses?"_

" _Honestly, I'm not surprised. I mean with everything that has happened over these couple of years with aliens and mutants, it was inevitable for the government to step up and take a stand."_

" _So you're saying you support this organization, SHIELD I believe it's called?"_

" _I'm saying that I can't fight aliens, I'm saying that I can't take down German terrorists, and apparently SHIELD can or could or whatever their situation is. I'm saying that I'm fine with the government making the moves necessary to keep me and my children safe."_

" _And that's the problem with America today—"_

" _Mr. Jeffrey, everyone is entitled to their opinion on my show-"_

" _No, screw opinion. The facts were just thrown across the internet and I knew it. I knew the government was into some deep stuff, like deep and-"_

Clint flicked off the television. He was literally getting tired of seeing it, of listening to people who knew nothing with the most to say. He sighed as he looked over to the unconscious form of Matthew lying in bed, the only sound coming from the beeping heart monitor and the whooshing respirator. One week. It was only seven days, but a lot had happened in those seven days. The secret organization he once worked for was no longer secret. Matthew Banks was brought in with several lacerations and contusions and was currently not waking up. SHIELD was gone, but even after all of that, there was only one thing that Clint thought about over the course of these seven days. It was the woman he always thought about. The woman he remembered seeing going into a hellicarrier, but never seeing her come out. Katie was gone and he had no idea how or why. All he knew was that she was gone and he had never felt so alone in his life.

There was a knock on the door that brought Clint from his thoughts. He looked over and let out an annoyed sigh. It was the one person he really didn't want to see. He would rather see Tony at the moment.

"Any news?" Steve asked walking into the room.

"Nope, he's still out." Clint replied. Steve nodded before looking over to Matthew and the room grew silent as both men listened to the beeping heart monitor and the whooshing respirator. "Was there something you needed?" It was harsh, but that's how it was meant to sound. Clint held so much animosity toward Steve at the moment, that the simple act of being in the same room was almost too much. He just wanted to hit him. At some point he thinks will.

"Barton, I understand how upset you must be right now, but you have to trust that if there was anything I could've done—"

"You said that you would look after her." Clint said standing to his feet and looking across to the man. "And I knew a guy like you, a good guy would keep his word, but she's not here right now. Tell me Captain, why is that exactly?"

"Like I said-"

"I know what you said!" Clint snapped. Yep, he was definitely going to hit this guy. "You don't remember!"

"I don't remember how I ended up on shore." Steve said interrupting the man. "I remember falling, and I remember seeing her fall, but after that—" he shook his head. "I told her to leave the moment the carrier was deactivated, I told her that it was done, but that she had to leave, but she—" Steve's mind went back to that carrier and seeing Katie look to him with determination as she refused to leave that carrier without him. "I don't get it, I mean I know she's good, but we aren't the closest, I'm still the one person on this entire team who knows the least about her and yet she stood there and she looked me in the face and told me she wasn't going to let me die." Steve brought his eyes back to Clint's. "I understand that you're mad and that you're hurt but you're not to one who has to live with that memory and know that it's because of you that a good person is no longer here." Steve looked down to Matthew and placed a hand on top of his for just a second before walking back to the door. "If anything changes let me know, I want to be the one—" he shook his head and looked over to Clint. "I think I should be the one to tell him." Clint simply nodded before Steve turned and walked out of the room.

Steve walked down the hall before spotting Sam and Natasha talking before they turned to him.

"Any changes?" Sam asked and Steve simply shook his head. Natasha noticed the slight expression change in Steve's features.

"I'm taking it didn't go too well with Barton either?" Natasha asked.

"I don't blame him." Steve replied rubbing the back of his neck. "She's gone and it's all my fault."

"We don't know what happened." Natasha replied. "The last time you saw her, was she alive?"

"Yes, but barely." Steve countered. "She hit her head on the window of the carrier. I wanted to help her but—"

"You were occupied with your psychotic friend." Natasha said seeing the glare Steve gave her. "Sorry, too soon. But my theory is, if you didn't see it happen, then there's a chance it didn't."

"But there's also a chance it did." Steve replied.

"Well until you answer that question how about you stop blaming your self for it." Natasha replied before looking down to her phone. "Shit, I have this stupid hearing," she sighed before looking back over to Steve. "I guess I'll see you guys later." both men nodded before watching the woman walk away.

"She's right you know." Sam spoke and Steve simply sighed. "There's still a chance she's still alive."

"Yeah there is, but then I start to worry even more," Steve replied. "Because she went through hell and high water to get her brother back and there he is in that room and she's nowhere in sight. If she's alive and she's not in that room then I'm afraid of where she could really be."

Katie stood leaning against the wall of the of the Smithsonian looking over to Bucky who stared pensively at the display that happened to be about him. One week had passed and he still hadn't given her any indication of what she was doing there. To her frustration, an escape seemed impossible. He rarely, if ever slept. Plus there was the fact that he was stronger and faster than she was and so she went along with him hoping that soon he would just do whatever is he was going to do.

"Are you going to kill me?" she whispered and he simply glanced over to her before turning back to the display. "Is this some sick, twisted, drawn out psychotic way of torturing and then killing me."

"That doesn't make sense." he muttered. "And no, I'm not going to kill you, now would you just shut up."

"Fine, I'll do you one better and just give you some privacy." Katie said before turning and only taking a few steps before he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "That is going to work at some point."

"No it's not." he said with a shake of his head. "Now stand there and shut up." he turned back to the display and continued to read about himself. For so long he didn't know and now that he did, it just felt surreal. He glanced over to Katie who was now leaning against the glass with her eyes closed. "How did you come to grips with it?" she opened her eyes and looked over to him. "At one moment you're one person and then the next you find out you're somebody else?"

"I don't know," Katie said running her fingers through her hair. "What they did to you was a lot worse than what they did to me, I would assume, so I can't possibly understand—" she let out a sigh. "That's why I'm here isn't it? You want me to make sense of all of this?" he turned away from her back to the display. "I wish I could, I wish...I would love to be your saving grace right now, but my head is killing me, I don't know if my brother is even alive, I don't know what happened to my friends and the person who has tried to kill me, my friends and my brother not even a week ago wants me to help him." Bucky didn't say anything and Katie let out a frustrated growl. "I'm sorry you went through what you went through, but right now I really just want to hit you and I would if I knew it would hurt you." she shook her head.

"I just realized that my entire life was taken away from me, my family, my friends, everything." he looked back over to her. "I was forced to do things that I wouldn't—" he sighed. "Right now I wish you would hit me if you could make it hurt." he let his eyes go back to the display, still trying to make sense of what he was feeling. They stood there after that in silence, before he felt her punch his arm. It wasn't a strong punch, but figured at the moment it was the strongest she was going to give. He looked looked down to his arm and placed a hand on hit. "Ow." he said sarcastically turning back to the display.

"I hate you." Katie muttered leaning back against the wall and closing her eyes. She missed the smirk that passed over his face as he read.

Clint had been nodding off when a doctor came in, checking Matthew's monitors. He sat up a bit to see what the doctor was doing before finally speaking.

"How is he doing doc?" Clint asked and the doctor looked over to him.

"The same," the doctor replied. "Brain activity is minimal."

"What are you saying?"

"He took a beating, a good one." The doctor said looking down to Matthew. "The fact that he's still hanging on is a miracle all in itself. I think time is all Mr. Banks needs right now." he looked back over to Clint. "I'll make sure to pass along all necessary information to his new doctors." the doctor turned to leave.

"Wait," Clint said standing to his feet. "New doctors, what new doctors?"

"I thought you knew. Mr. Banks is scheduled to be transported to NY Presbyterian Hospital in just a few hours." the doctor replied.

"Under whose orders?" Clint asked confused. He'd been by the man's bedside since he'd been in the hospital and knew nothing about him being transported.

"His power of attorney," the doctor replied. "Mr. Stark." Clint shook his head in anger before nodding to the doctor. The doctor simply turned and walked out of the room.

"God damn Stark." Clint muttered before looking over to Matthew.

Once again Katie sat in the passenger side of yet another stolen vehicle procured by her kidnapper, Mr. Barnes.

"I just told you that I can't help you and yet here I am." Katie said looking over to him. "You want to take a trip of self rediscovery, then fine, just let me out at the bus stop up there."

"You don't get it."

"I absolutely don't get it." Katie replied. "You need something from me and I can't give it to you. What happened to you was fucked up, but you're strong and you're smart and I know given some time you will find a way to live through it." He looked over to her with a look she didn't recognize. "What?"

"You don't know me."

"I know you a lot more than you may realize." Katie replied. "It's why I'm here isn't it. The fact that we are two people that the two headed beast of SHIELD/HYDRA has screwed over the worst." she shook her head and looked out of the window. "They took our lives and forced us to watch and then made people think we were crazy."

"And yet you fought for them." Buck said and Katie looked over to him.

"No I didn't." Katie countered. "The moment I left SHIELD, I really left SHIELD. When I fought, I fought for my friends, for my family and for the people." she shook her head. "I never fought for SHIELD."

"That was real patriotic of you." Bucky said and Katie looked over to see an amused smirk on his face. "Doesn't change the fact that we're here, the victims of a screwed up system."

"I'm not a victim and neither are you," Katie replied. "This was a learning experience. I learned something and you learned something and we take these lessons and we make sure we're never put in situations like this again. We pay attention and we follow our instincts and we recognize our friends and our enemies." he looked over to her. "You saved my life in that hell and I want to thank you for that, and I know that the person I met afterwards wasn't you and the person who hurt my brother wasn't you."

"Then who was it?" Bucky asked angrily. "Because that thing that they made, it's in me somewhere, so how do you know it's not me?"

"I don't know how to explain it, but the person I met in that dark room is the person I see right now." Katie replied. "Despite what you've done your heart shines through." he glanced over to her. That wasn't something he would expect her to say, even if he didn't know her that well. "It's something my dad used tell me when I was younger." that surprised even her. She rarely spoke of her father, much less voluntarily sharing memories of him. She turned away and Bucky noticed how effected she was of the mention of her father. "How much longer are we going to do this?" he didn't reply immediately which made Katie that much curious. "At some point you're just going to have to figure this out on your own or I don't know talk to Steve." he sent a glare toward her. "He's your friend and he was willing to risk his life to save you, so yes at some point talking to him should be on your list of things to do." More silence followed before Bucky pulled over to the side of the road. Katie looked over to him confused and he simply just looked ahead. "What are you doing?"

"You wanted to go, so here's your chance." Bucky says not sparing a glance. Katie shook her head before going to open the door, but she froze. It wasn't her lack of desire to actually leave that stopped her, but it was her damn conscience. She muttered under her breath before closing the door and sitting back in the seat. Bucky didn't say anything as he shifted the car into drive and pulled off. She sent a glare in his direction. 

"I really hate you." she turned back to look out the window, once again missing the slight smirk on his face.

Clint paced back and forth in front Matthew's room, his cell phone pressed to his ear. He'd been on hold for way too long waiting for Tony to finally answer.

 _"I'm sorry Agent Barton,"_ JARVIS answered. " _Mr. Stark is busy at the moment and can't come to the phone, he said you are free to leave a message."_

"JARVIS, tell Tony to answer the phone now!" Clint snapped trying to keep his voice as calm as he possibly could in the hospital. The line was silent for a moment and Clint thought JARVIS had hung up.

 _"Have you found her?_ " a voice spoke next that wasn't JARVIS. It was Tony.

"No, look—"

 _"Then we have nothing to discuss Barton."_ Tony replied about to hang up.

"Wait, what is this about you moving Matthew to New York?"

_"What are you confused about? I'm in New York, I'm his power of attorney, there are excellent doctors here, and because I say so."_

"You're a prick you know that. He's fine here, if there's a chance she's out there, this will be the first place she looks."

 _"If she's out there she won't assume where her brother is bird brain, she'll figure it out. Listen, I got to go, but nice talk._ " and with that Tony hung up the phone.

Clint growled in frustration before turning and walking back into Matthew's room. He slumped back into his chair as he looked over to Matthew.

"What the fuck am I supposed to do?" Clint asked out loud. It was the question he'd been asking himself the moment he found out she was missing. He had no starting point, no clue as to where she could've possibly gone. She was just gone and he had no idea what he was supposed to do.

"Keep it down." Matthew's rough voice slurred. Clint's eyes widen as he walked over to the man's side to see Matthew stirring.

"Hey, Matt?" Clint spoke and the man opened his eyes and it was obvious that Clint was definitely not the man he expected to see. He looked around the room expecting to see someone else. Clint followed his eyes already knowing who he was looking for. "She's...she's not here." Matthew looked over to Clint and noticed the look or sadness in the man's eyes and it was as if he knew what had happened. Matthew simply closed his eyes. "Hey—" Clint placed a hand on the man's shoulder before the room erupted in an array of beeping and buzzing. "Matt!" soon doctors and nurses rushed into the room pushing Clint away until he ended up in the hallway staring at the door. That where he stood when the doctor finally came out.

"He's in stable condition."

"What happened, he was awake, he spoke."

"I'm not sure, but it's not uncommon for coma patients to come in and out of consciousness." the doctor replied. "I am a little concerned about moving him at the moment though, I think I'm going to have to talk with Mr. Stark." Clint nodded before watching the doctor and the rest of the nurses clear out. He walked back inside to the familiar sight of Matthew lying there unmoving.

Tony stood at the window of his New York Tower, just staring out to the scenery before him. He wasn't supposed to be thinking about her right now. That's what he told himself. Actually it's what Bruce told him and he agreed. His girlfriend had been in an accident and though it wasn't life threatening, his attention still should be on her. The ding of the elevator tore him from his thoughts and he turned to see Bruce walk in.

"You know this place really is nice." the doctor said. "I was a little skeptical at first, but I think I'm coming around."

"Well then my job is done." Tony replied before turning back to the window. It was a joke, but it lacked the umph the man usually held when he spoke.

"So how is Pepper doing today?" Bruce asked walking over and taking a seat on the couch.

"Good, she's actually meeting with investors today:" Tony replied. "You know nothing can keep Pep down:"

"Right." Bruce said noting the the faraway look in Tony's eyes as he looked out the window. It was obvious his mind was elsewhere and it was obvious who he was thinking about. "Any word on Katie?" Tony turned abruptly not expecting that question. "C'mon Tony, I could tell you until I’m blue in the face that you shouldn't get obsessive about this, about her, but it won't stop whatever searches you have JARVIS doing at the moment, or it won't stop you from hacking every government agency you know to find any information about her. You care about her and maybe I don't understand the scope of your relationship, but I understand that right now you're worried. Maybe even a little scared."

"I'm not scared." Tony replied turning back to the window. "She's alive, I know she's alive. I just don't know where she is, but I will."

"Have you talked to Pepper about this?" Bruce asked and Tony sighed loudly before turning and walking over to pour himself a drink.

"Why is it that whenever Katie's name is mentioned you feel that I should talk to Pepper?" Tony asked. "Look Katie is my friend, and Pepper knows that."

"I'm your friend, would you focus everything you have to finding me if I had disappeared?"

"Probably, but you know who definitely would?" Tony asked. "The woman who trapped you in a men's bathroom with a fire extinguisher to help you with your nanomeds."

"I didn't need help—"

"But it didn't stop her from giving it." Tony said interrupting him.

"Look you're right, I just don't think you should drive yourself crazy over this when you don't even know what's happened?" Bruce said standing to his feet. "For all we know she could've ran again."

"No, not without seeing her brother." Tony replied taking a sip from his glass. "Something else is going on here."

"Maybe, but at the moment we have nothing." Bruce replied before looking over to the tv screen that was playing the hearing. "Wait, that was today wasn't it?" Tony looked over to the screen and nodded.

"This morning, this is just the one hundredth replay." Tony replied with a shake of his head.

". _..So if you want to arrest me, arrest me. You'll know where to find me."_ Natasha's voice spoke before she stood and walked out of the room.

"Looks like SHIELD is gone and all of it's secrets are out." Tony muttered as he brought his glass to his lips.

"You-"

"JARVIS downloaded them the moment they were posted." Tony said answering the question he knew was about to be asked.

"Have you looked at them yet?" Bruce asked and Tony shook his head.

"It's like that moment you see your first horror movie. You think its going to be awesome, but then you see it and can't sleep for weeks afterwards." Tony replied. "I have the holy grail of secrets waiting for me and I don't want to look at it." he looked back over to Bruce. "I don't think I can handle any more life changing information at the moment."

They were at a diner now. It was strange, because Katie never would've even guessed that she'd be sitting in a booth across from Bucky Barnes, AKA the Winter Soldier in her wildest dreams.

"You're staring again." Bucky said as he looked out the window. He turned back to her. "It's weird, stop it."

"You're weird." Katie countered before sitting back in her seat and glancing around the diner. "It's getting late."

"Your point?" he asked looking down to the menu in front of him.

"My point is I can't be here forever." Katie replied noting that he wouldn't look to her. "You need a friend, someone to talk to, then fine, I'll give you my number, but I've done this already. I've ran as far as I could go." his eyes lifted to meet hers. "Letting me go doesn't mean you're alone because you're not. I'll always be a phone call away and I'm sure Steve won't be that far behind."

"I don't know where to start."

"You already have." Katie said. "That museum, that was you starting. Right now you need to find out what happened. You need to find out where it all happened, you need answers and I could help you, but for me to do that I have to go back." Bucky turned away. "I have people waiting for me and I can't disappear, not again."

"So you're leaving," Bucky said as a statement, rather than a question. "And I'm not." Once again they were surrounded by silence.

"Yeah, but first how about some pie." Katie said before looking down to the menu. He smirked slightly before looking down to his own menu.

Natasha walked into Matthew's room to find the man still lying their unconscious and Clint still sitting in the chair beside him.

"You really love her, don't you?" Natasha asked and Clint looked over to her. "I mean that's the only reason I can come up with for why you've been glued to that chair since he was brought in."

"How was the hearing?" Clint asked rubbing his fingers over his tired eyes.

"As expected." Natasha replied walking into the room, her eyes on Matthew. "I heard he woke up."

"Yeah for like a second." Clint said. "He was looking for her and when he didn't see her he just—" Clint shook his head before bringing his face into his hands.

"She's not dead." Natasha spoke and Clint lifted his head to her. "A team has combed through water and rubble and she's not there."

"That's not proof that she's alive." Clint said turning to Matthew. "That's proof that there's nothing left of her there. So where is she?"

"I don't know, but I know that if she is out there, she'll be here." Natasha said. Clint simply nodded. "Did you get the text?" she'd gotten a message earlier about meeting Fury tomorrow.

"Yep, I got it." 

"Will you be there?"

"I'm not sure yet." Clint replied folding his arms over his chest as he sat back in his seat. "I'm not sure if there's a reason for me to be there. There's no SHIELD, no team. We're all free agents now, so we move and shake to the beat of our own drum."

"SHIELD maybe gone, but the team isn't." Natasha replied and Clint looked over to her as she turned and walked out of the room.

Clint sat there with his eyes on Matthew listening to the beeping and whooshing of the machines around them. There was only one person he needed in that moment and she was nowhere to be found. The closest he would get to her was the man lying before him fighting for his life. Natasha was right, that if Katie was out there, then this was where she would be. He wondered if that's why he hadn't left. He'd been sitting here wondering what his next move should be and he was already doing it. He was hoping that he really did know her, and that her brother was as important to her as he believed he was.

Clint soon let the noise of the room lull him to sleep. He didn't know how long he'd been asleep before he felt something on his lap. At first he thought he was dreaming when he opened his eyes and saw her right there, sitting in his lap and smiling at him.

"Am I dreaming?" he asked seriously doubting that this was happening.

"Nope." Katie replied before turning to look at her brother. “You know after all this time, I expected to see him up and talking. Has he been like this the whole time?"

"Yeah," Clint replied as his arms wrapped around her like it was second nature to him. "Well he woke up briefly but then he just went under again. Tony is moving him tomorrow, to New York."

"Do the doctors think that's a good idea?" Katie asked looking back over to Clint. "That's hours in the air, anything can happen?"

"The doctors are against it, but Tony is an ass who stomps his feet and throws his cash around until he gets his way." Clint replied.

"Well not this time," Katie said looking over to her brother. "If the doctor thinks we shouldn't move him yet, then we're not moving him."

"Tony is the power of attorney."

"Yeah, when I'm not around, but I'm here now and I'm the one whose taking care of him." Katie replied.

"You're here now." Clint says and Katie turns back to him. "A week later Kat, where the hell have you been?" Katie shook her head, not sure where to even start or even if she should say. A moan escaped her brother's lips and she jumped to her feet and ran to his side.

"Mattie?" Katie asked running her hand through his hair. "It's alright, I'm here. But you got to wake up." she waited and after a few moments, his eyes flit open. "There you are." Matthew looked up to see his smiling sister. "I hope you know I'm going to kick your ass when you get out of here." she felt tears of joy fall down her cheeks. "You scared the shit out of me, don't do that again."

"Well don't work for crazy people again." Matthew replied and Katie laughed before bringing her arm around him in a hug. "Is this affection, you don't do affection."

"Shut up dork and take it like a man." Katie said before placing a kiss on his forehead.

"I'm going to go get the doctor." Clint said before heading to the door. He stopped just as he was about to leave before turning and looking to the pair and smiled before going to to fetch the doctor.

Bucky stood leaning against the hood of his stolen car as he looked up to the hospital Katie had ran inside. He doesn't know why he was standing there waiting. He knew she wasn't coming back, even if he wished she would. Bucky took out his cell phone and dialed the number she'd given him and as expected it went straight to the voice mail.

"Uh, it's me. I figure that's good enough given the circumstances. I wouldn't be expecting many of these calls, but I think I just had to make this one. I did have another reason for why I did what I did and yeah maybe you were sort of right, but there was something else. Something I wasn't sure if I should mention, but after giving it some thought I figure you deserved to know the truth. Pierce didn't kidnap your brother as some attempt to distract you from Insight, that was just an added bonus. He wanted you there because he needed something from you. Something he thought you knew. I never found out what, but I heard him talk about it a couple of times when he thought I wasn't listening. I think there was someone else though. Someone who was feeding him this information. That's all I know and hopefully you can figure out what it's all about." Bucky stood there with the phone pressed to his ear wondering if there was anything else he needed to say before he closed himself off from the world. "You thanked me for saving you so I guess I should do the same. So yeah, thank—" a beep ended the message right there. He pulled the phone from his ear before looking down to it and shaking his head and sliding it into his pocket. He glanced back up to the hospital before turning and heading over to get back into the truck.


	12. Chapter 12

It would seem that at various points in her life, Katie would find herself surrounded by death. And one of those times was now. Many would find themselves nervous as the stench of death passed their nostrils, but Katie...Katie was currently enjoying a nice warm pretzel.

"I can't believe you're making me buy you a pretzel." Clint said handing a couple of bills to the guy holding the pretzel cart. "I can't believe there's a pretzel cart in front of a cemetery." he shook his head as he watched the guy push his cart away.

"I've seen weirder things." Katie replied before taking a bit of her pretzel. "It's so good," she held it over to him. "Wanna bite?"

"You seem cheerful this morning." Clint replied before taking a bite from the pretzel. "That's the last feeling people have when they're walking around a cemetery."

"I guess I'm finally hopeful that my life doesn't have to be a shit storm any more." Katie replied. "There's no more SHIELD or HYDRA to worry about, my brother is looking like he's getting better, I have my—" she looked over to Clint. "Still have to discuss what this is going to be."

"What's to discuss, you're my girl, I'm your guy, that's all to it." Clint replied and Katie slightly chuckled before taking a bite. "What, I was being serious."

"I know," Katie replied. "But I still have trust issues when it comes to this, us. I mean we did this once and it bit us in the ass."

"Things are different now." Clint replied bringing an arm around her waist and pulling her close to him. "A lot of the obstacles are out of the way." Katie smiled before feeling her pretzel plucked from her hand. She turned to see Rick Mason taking a big bite of her pretzel. "Not all of them though."

"You dick, give me that back!" Katie said reached forward to grab the pretzel. Mason simply stuffed the rest into his mouth and smiled. "Ugh, you suck."

"I love you too worm." Mason said before looking over to Clint. "I guess you were invited to this farewell party as well. Sad, I was hoping after worm told you of our sordid affair you'd be too distraught to see me."

"What the hell are you talking about Mason?" Clint asked clearly annoyed with the man's mere presence. Mason simply turned to Katie and smiled.

"You didn't tell him, did you?" Rick asked and Katie rolled her eyes before turning to Clint.

"In a moment that I can only describe as momentary insanity, I kissed this jackass on the cheek." Katie said and she noticed the slight rise of Clint's eyebrows. "It will not happen again, especially since I'm probably going to kick his ass for taking my pretzel."

"Aw, the sweet talk is too much." Rick said placing a hand above his heart, before turning and walking off. Clint found himself about to follow after him, but Katie grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"You know I can't ever kiss you now, right?" Clint said looking over to Katie. "You're like ruined forever and I don't think there's anything that can save you." Katie stopped and turned away from him, placing the back of her hand to her forehead dramatically.

"I guess I will have to live the rest of my days without the feel of your lips on mine." Katie spoke before letting out a few fake sniffles. "I fear I may not survive, but it's the price I will pay for letting myself be defiled by a jackass." she let out a laugh, unable to keep up the act before turning back to Clint and smiling sweetly to him. "Who are you kidding, you can't resist me." she was right and he knew it. "Now kiss me," Clint simply shook head as he laughed at the faces she was making. "C'mon, sugar lips, right here on the kisser."

"You're such a dork," Clint replied looking down to her before bringing his lips to hers. "But you're my dork."

"Truer words were never spoken." Katie replied before pressing a peck to his lips when they were suddenly rudely interrupted.

"People are trying to rest in peace here." a voice spoke from behind them and they turned to see Natasha. "They don't want you two making out over their bodies." she eyed Katie and smirked. "You're not dead, how fortunate for you."

"I think you should know I know the truth." Katie said walking over to the woman. "You like me, maybe even have a special place for me in that spot where your heart used to be."

"I highly doubt it." Natasha replied before walking around the pair.

"I see she still hasn't cured that chronic constipation problem?" Katie said looking over to Clint who just burst out laughing before grabbing her hand and pulling her with him. They walked up spotting the others, including Steve and Sam standing around the headstone. Steve spots them and he smiles before walking over. "Go, I'm going to catch up." Clint looks over and nods before going over to others passing Steve on the way.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you." Steve said bringing to woman into a hug she didn't expect. She accepted it though and even hugged back. He pulled from the hug and looked her over. "You're a crazy person, you know that. There was no reason you should've placed yourself in harm because of me."

"You're my friend, that's reason enough for me." Katie said with a shrug. "Plus there was something I could do, and if something went wrong I didn't want to look back on that moment knowing I didn't do anything."

"How did you?" Steve asked. "I mean I dropped the server blade and I was made to believe that it was the only thing that could deactivate the hellicarrier."

"No it was the easy way to deactivate the carrier, but every techie builds more than one key to a lock." Katie replied. "When I worked for SHIELD, my first couple of days were spent following one of the senior techs around. I remember seeing server blades and they were in the exact pattern they were in that ship."

"You think the carriers were in development that far back?"

"Maybe or maybe the server blades were an ends to a means. They needed something that could hold their programming and blades could do that. I guess something good did come from my time at the compound."

"I have a feeling your work there did a lot of good, including finding me." Steve replied as he held out a hand to her. "On the battle field, your life was your comrades and their life was yours." Katie smiled placing her hand in his. "I'm glad to know that in the time of need you have my back, and I want you to know that I will always have yours."

"That's good to know." Katie replied shaking his hand. Steve lifted his head and Katie turned following his eyes to see a familiar figure headed their way. It was Fury, sans eye patch. He now wore a pair of dark sunglasses and a hoodie brought over his head. "You raided my closet, didn't you?"

"One would think at some point your wit would get old," Fury said walking over to her. "And that person would be right." he walked around her and she and Steve followed behind. Fury walked over and looked at the grave stone that held his name. "So," he glanced over to Steve and Katie. "You've experienced this sort of thing before?"

"You get used to it." Steve replies.

"I paid a kid to destroy mine." Katie said and they all looked over to her. "A story for a different time."

"We've been data-mining HYDRA's files." Fury said. "Looks like a lot of rats didn't go down with the ship."

"So cutting off the head didn't kill the body?" Katie asked and Fury simply shrugged. "Unless we didn't cut off the head."

"All things I hope to find out on my trip to Europe." Fury said. "I was hoping you all would join me."

"There's something I gotta do first." Steve said cryptically, but Fury simply nodded before looking over to Sam.

"What about you Wilson?"

"I'm more of a soldier than a spy," Sam said and Fury nodded.

"Well you can count me in." Mason says walking to stand beside Fury. "I'm not doing anything at the moment, and Europe with the boss just seems like a recipe for trouble, which I'm always down for." Fury shook his head before looking over Katie and Clint who shared a look. Clint turned back to the director, feeling that familiar tug of the agent inside of him telling him to go where he belonged. He turned back to Katie and realized that she was where he belonged.

"I think we're going to sit this one out." Clint said. Katie smiled before they both turned to the director. "At least for now you know, we could use a vacation."

"I understand." Fury said. "Alright then," he reaches out and shakes all of their hands before turning and looking to his gravestone. "Anybody asks for me, tell them they can find me here." and with that the man turns and walks away.

"It's been fun people." Mason says with a small salute. "Nat, call me." he looks over to Katie and winks before turning to catch up to Fury.

"A few minutes more with that guy and I was going to hit him." Clint muttered. Katie's eyes were on the Nick who stopped and turned to her. He nudged his head for her to come over.

"I'll be right back." Katie said before walking over. Nick waved a hand for Mason to go along to the car before Katie came over. "You didn't want the others to hear how much you're going to miss me, did you?"

"Unfortunately no." Fury said digging into his pocket and pulling out a flash drive. "When digging through HYDRA's files I found this. I debated on whether I should hand it over, but history has taught me that the truth comes out eventually."

"What is it?" Katie asked looking down to the device.

"You." Fury replied and Katie looked over to him in confusion. "Your father, your mother, your grandparents. This is your life."

"You're joking?" Katie says plucking the device from his hand. "Why would my life be in some HYDRA files?"

"I don't know, but I think at some point you should find out." Nick replies and Katie looks over to him and nods before slipping the flash drive into her pocket. "I would also consider getting in contact with Coulson at some point, I have a feeling he may need your assistance, especially after all of this."

"You run his team?" Katie asked.

"A list is still formulating." Nick replies.

"If he's up in the air with traitors, that list needs to be done now." Katie says. "Send me the files and I'll crank out a list faster then whatever idiots you have working on this." she saw a hint of a smile on the man's face. "Stop doing that, it's disturbing." she shook her head before turning and walking away.

The others had dispersed, all but Clint who stood waiting for her. He watched her closely waiting for her to say something.

"So, what was that about?" Clint asked and Katie shrugged.

"Can you believe he wanted to tell me that he was going to miss me and that I was always his favorite." Katie said with a shake of her head. "And I was just like chill bro." Clint looked to her incredulously. "What you don't believe me?"

"No, I really don't." Clint replied before turning to see Steve and Sam coming over. Katie peered over to see Natasha in the distance already leaving.

"I can't believe she didn't even say goodbye." Katie sighed.

"I can't believe you thought she would." Clint muttered before looking over to Steve and Sam. "So you guys heading out?"

"Yeah, I have something that I have to do." Steve replied and Katie smiled. She knew the kind of man Steve was and knew that he wouldn't just let Bucky roam around helpless.

"And I'm tagging along for the ride." Sam replied with a nod. "What about you two?" Clint and Katie share a look and smiled before turning to the pair.

"We have no idea." Clint replied.

"And we're fine with that." Katie added reaching over to grab Clint's hand. "First I have to make sure my brother isn't completely damaged from this whole experience."

"How is Matthew doing?" Steve asked.

"He seems fine for someone who took a week to wake up." Katie said with a shrug before looking down to her watch. "I'm supposed to meet with his doctors."

"Right, well I I guess I will see you later." Steve said stepping forward and bringing Katie into a hug. "I have a phone that I can partially understand, and I know the basics of texting, but just don't get too fancy with the acronyms."

"Oh, LOL cap." Katie said swatting his arm playfully.

"LMAO you guys." Clint said laughing as well.

"OMG, look at his face." Sam said noting the captain's perplexed glare.

"Funny, real funny you guys." Steve said with a shake of his head. "You guys don't see how lazy our society has gotten that it can't even use full sentences anymore."

"Aw, JK Steve," Katie replied and he simply waved her away. "See you later." Steve and Sam shook Clint's hand before turning and heading off. "We should get going." Katie looks over to Clint who brings his arm around her. "You're awfully touchy feely all of a sudden." she placed her hands above his chest.

"Maybe I'm trying to catch up on all the time that I wasn't able to just touch you." Clint said and Katie smiled. She was hesitant at first to give into this again after being so heart broken the last time. Her head was screaming at her that this was a mistake and that it can only end one way, but then her heart spoke up. And it said that she couldn't go another day without being his. It told her that there was no comparable feeling to when he looked at her the way he did. The moment was interrupted by her phone ringing and she sighed before bringing it to her ear.

"This is Katie." she greeted and then she heard something that wiped the smile completely off her face. "What!" Clint looked confused before she grabbed his hand and just pulled him with her.

He didn't find out what was going on until they were speeding down the street. He tried to calm her down when they arrived at the hospital and she looked like she was going to kick at least one person's ass. She pushed inside Matthew's room to find him sitting up, now in his regular clothes as if ready to go. Matthew looked over to his sister and saw the look on her face and just knew his sister was not happy.

"Rinny—" his words were cut off by a nurse walking in with a clip board in her hand. Katie snatched the clipboard and looked down to it.

"Excuse me, who—"

"It's fine, she's my sister." Matthew intervened looking over to Katie who read over the forms.

"These are early release forms." Katie said looking between her brother and the nurse. "Why are you bringing him early release forms when he hasn't been awake a full forty eight four hours?"

"Nurse Lauren you want to give me a moment with my sister?" Matthew asked and the nurse simply nodded before hurrying out of the room. Matthew turned back to his sister, but caught sight of Clint who was hanging back by the door. "You want to go too secret agent dude?"

"Mattie!"

"No, it's fine, I'll leave you two alone." Clint said before turning and leaving as well. Katie turned back to her brother with a glare.

"That was rude."

"No, that was me, now what the hell are you freaking out about?" Matthew asked and Katie just waved the clipboard in the air. "Look I talked to Tony and—"

"I should've known this was Tony's doing." Katie said with a shake of her head already thinking up ways to hurt the man.

"Will you let me finish." Matthew groaned in annoyance. "I talked to Tony this morning and he said that he had the whole medical unit all set up at the tower and that whenever I'm ready then it will be ready. Sis, I'm ready to get the hell out of DC."

"What do your doctors says?"

"That there's risks, but there will be risks today and weeks from now." Matthew replied. "Right now DC holds a lot of bad memories and with all this crap on the news and the internet I would think you would want to get out as well."

"That crap is everywhere." Katie muttered tossing the clipboard on the bed. "Just like what you're feeling won't go away just because you're in New York."

"I know, but I'll at least have a semblance of safety. I just want to go home."

Katie looked at him for a moment before nodding. She didn't want to do this, not this soon, but it seemed her brother was dead set to do this.

"Alright, I'll find us a way—"

"Already done." Matthew interrupted.

"Tony?" Katie asked and her brother simply nodded. "Oh God bless Tony Stark." she mutters sarcastically with a shake of her head.

Soon they find themselves on one of Tony's private planes headed to New York. Katie sits beside Clint, glaring over to the woman Tony sent who claims she's a nurse. The perky blonde whose clothes are a little too revealing made Katie doubt that very much.

"You know if you keep doing that your face is going to stay like that." Clint said looking over to the glare on her face.

"Am I crazy?" Katie asked turning to him. "For being a little concerned that my brother who needs round the clock medical attention is in the hands of a playboy bunny?"

"That's not nice," Clint said looking over to the nurse as she reached down to check Matthew's pulse, giving the young man a peek down her blouse. "Maybe she's just a little—"

"She's a prostitute." Katie said flat out causing Clint to erupt with laughter. "I'm serious. Tony would hire a prostitute to pretend that she's a nurse just to, I don't know make Matthew happy."

"And I would say it's working." Clint says noticing the never leaving grin on Matthew's face. "Look he seems fine, so let him just have his nurse."

"Hooker." Katie corrected before turning to look out the window. She felt a hand wrap around hers and a smile came to her lips as she turned back to him. He was smiling that smile that always made the butterflies flutter in her stomach. "Thanks for this. I know New York and Tony are the last thing you would like to be dealing with right now."

"I'm fine, I can deal with Stark." Clint replied giving her hand a squeeze. "Right now I think I'm not going to let little things like Stark get to me. I think I'm going to focus on more important things." Katie smiled as he reached forward bringing his lips to hers.

Matthew couldn't stop smiling as he watched his nurse turn and saunter back to her seat, his eyes on her long legs. He heard the sound of light giggling and turned to see his sister and the agent, as he was choosing to call him, kissing. The smile fell from his lips and turned into a scowl.

"I'm definitely going to have to do something about this." he muttered.

New York hadn't changed since the last time they were there. People where bustling about like aliens hadn't appeared from a hole in the sky. They were picked up by a car sent by Tony to bring them to the tower.

"It's strange being back here." Katie said looking out the window. "It's like nothing happened."

"What did you expect?" Clint asked looking over to her. "The world thinks they're safe. SHIELD did that. The Avengers did that. You did that." she glanced over to him and smiled.

"So now the question is, now that there's no SHIELD, and the Avengers are all over the world, is it really safe?" Katie asked turning back to look out the window.

"Well for now it is." Clint said reaching over and taking her hand.

Matthew glanced back from his spot in the front seat and simply shook his head. He needed to get rid of the agent and soon. Katie looked up a head and spotted the tower instantly.

"Big and gaudy, just like I would expect from Stark." Clint said and Katie swatted his arm lightly.

"Hey, I helped make that too." Katie said looking up to the tower. "I was apart of something that's going to be around forever and will do good."

"You've already been apart of something good." Clint said. "I know SHIELD wasn't all we thought it was, but there was some good there. And you were apart of that. We all were." The car came to a stop and they all looked up to the tall building. "I guess it's time to get this over with."

"We'll be fine." Katie said before they all finally got out and headed inside. She couldn't stop the smile that came to her lips as she looked at the beautiful building. It was everything that they had dreamed it to be.

"It's good to be home." Matthew said looking around the massive space. He wished he could walk, but his sister made him promise to stay in his wheelchair. He looked over to his nurse and pointed toward the elevators. "We have to get on the private elevators." the nurse nodded before pushing him along.

"Hey," Clint says grabbing Katie's hand as she continued to marvel. "We should go." Katie nodded and let him pull her away. They all stepped onto the elevator before the nurse pressed a button, but before the doors closed Katie reached out a hand and stopped them before turning to the nurse.

"I want to thank you from me and my brother Nurse-" Katie swallowed her sarcasm. "Candy, but I don't think we require your assistance any longer."

"Wait, what?" Matthew asked angrily. "You can't—" Katie held up a hand stopping him before looking back to the nurse.

"I'm sure Mr. Stark has paid you a ridiculous amount of money so I doubt this will be any kind of set back." Katie replied before moving aside to let the woman pass. "I hope you understand."

"I do." Candy replied before giving a smile to Matthew before stepping off the elevator. Katie stepped inside and let the doors closed.

"You had no right to do that." Matthew said glaring up to his sister.

"She wasn't a nurse and you need—"

"Don't tell me what I need, because I'm actually good with knowing what I need!" Matthew snapped.

"Oh, come off it, some hooker pretending to be a nurse is the last thing you need right now!" Katie countered. "So stop being such a brat!"

"Stop pretending to be my mother, because you're not!" Matthew growled standing to his feet. " Stop treating me like some little kid. I am an adult and I don't need you making decisions for me, I can do that all on my own." he felt slightly dizzy and dropped back into his wheelchair.

"Well you look like it." Katie muttered sarcastically. "JARVIS, are you there bud?"

"Yes Katie," The AI's voice spoke. "And may I say it is great to have you back." Katie smiled. Tony had definitely been working on the AI. He had more personality than she remembered.

"It's good to be back." Katie replied. "Did Mr. Stark set us up with some rooms?"

"Yes, he prepared two rooms on the housing sector of the tower." JARVIS replied.

"Alright, I think Matthew would rather get himself to medical and Clint and I will just head to those rooms."

"Oh, don't be such a big baby." Matthew groaned but Katie ignored him.

"Just let us off on our floor." Katie said. Soon the elevator stopped and the doors slid open. She looked over to Clint who simply shook his head. "Are you coming?"

"Don't you think you're overreacting, just a little bit?" Clint asked and Katie's eyebrows rose in shock. "I'm not taking sides here, but—"

"Oh, that's exactly what you're doing." Katie said with a slight shake of her head before stepping off the elevator. "Fine." She looked between them. "I hope you two are very happy together." she turned and walked away as the doors closed.

"This is not how I saw this going." Clint muttered running a hand over his tired eyes.

"She'll be fine, she'll get over it." Matthew replied and Clint turned to him. "I don't know why she's so upset, I'm the one who was kidnapped and beat within inches of my life, maybe I deserve a little Candy."

"Dude, you did not just say that." Clint said with a shake of his head. Matthew glared up to him.

"What are you doing here anyways, you're the last person I want help from." Soon the doors slid opened and there standing smiling widely was Tony, his arms out wide. He looked between Matthew and Clint and around the elevator before the smile fell.

"What the hell did you two do to my kitten?" Tony asked gaining glares from both men. Matthew rolled himself out onto the medical unit of the tower. It looked very futuristic with all the white and monitors all over the place. "Are one of you going to answer me?"

"She and Matthew had a little tiff after she fired his nurse." Clint replied and Tony let out a snort.

"She called her a hooker!" Matthew said spinning around. "I mean she doesn't know anything about the woman."

"To be honest, I don't really know much about her." Tony said with a shrug. "Her credentials were a little spotty, but she looked good and I thought you could use a little sexual healing."

"You did not just say that." Clint said with a shake of his head.

"Well where is my kitten now?"

"Will you stop calling her that, she has a name and it's not kitten." Clint said already annoyed with the man. Tony didn't seem bothered and simply turned to Matthew.

"She went to her room." Matthew sighed. Tony nodded and before turning and getting on the elevator. "Are you leaving, I just got here. This isn't about her you know, I'm the one who was kidnapped and beaten by a weird guy who liked to wear masks."

"Were you always this selfish?" Tony asked walking back over to him. "I swear it's 'I this' and 'I that' there are other people on this planet. Look around Mattie, this floor was made possible because of you."

"What are you talking about?" Matthew asked glancing around the wing.

"Well the medical wing of the tower was put on the back burner. It was here but it wasn't fully functional and there wasn't any staff yet, but now—" Tony turned the back of Matthew's wheel chair to show a woman and man both dressed in medical attire. "Your own medical team. Meet nurse Blair. Your sister will like her. Pepper chose her and apparently she totally over qualified to be here. Then there is Dr. Ramsey, he was hand picked by our resident rage monster. Also very over qualified to be here. But I'm paying them ridiculous amounts of money to be here to get my PA up and back to work." Tony ruffled the man's hair before turning and walking back to the elevator. "So get settled in and I'll check in with you later."

Matthew simply shook his head before looking over to Clint who seemed to be standing awkwardly beside him.

"I don't think I've done anything that would make you believe that I would like you to be here right now." Matthew said. Clint simply shook his head before turning and stepping onto the elevator again.

"Alright Mr. Banks," Nurse Blair said with a wide smile as she walked over and grabbed the back of his wheel chair. "Lets show you to your room." Matthew looked up to his new nurse who didn't look nearly as perfect as Candy and just sighed.

Katie looked around the massive apartment and couldn't actually believe it. It was big and flashy and totally something Tony would design. But she did smile at the computers set up in what looked like a office. She had a wall of monitors to keep her informed of what was happening in the world.

"JARVIS, when did Tony do all of this?" Katie asked as she walked through the rooms.

"This was one of the very first designs Mr. Stark created." JARVIS replied and Katie simply smiled before plopping down on a sofa that was strategically placed in front of a large picture window giving her a beautiful view of the city. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the flash drive Fury had given her. It seemed to be burning a hold in her pocket all day. She tried putting it out of her mind and she tried telling herself to just let it go. Here she was finally free from running, finally free of the crap and this tiny flash could jeopardize that.

"JARVIS, does Tony have you reporting to him on all computer activity in the tower?"

"Only suspicious activity is reported to Mr. Stark," JARVIS replied. "But I am programmed to monitor and record all activity."

"Of course you are." Katie said rolling the flash in her hand. If she was going to look into this, she wasn't going to pull anyone else into it. "I bet you're also suppose to tell Mr. Stark the moment I start fiddling with your innards."

"Yes, I am to report to him immediately the moment my programming is being altered." the AI stated and Katie simply sighed. She had no idea what was on the flash and she didn't want to risk JARVIS giving the information to anyone she didn't want.

"I should just let this go." Katie muttered before standing to her feet and walking back into the office, tossing the flash into the bottom drawer of her desk. After closing the drawer, she stood there hesitant, but finally shook off the thought before turning to go take a shower.

Tony and Clint rode the elevator in their usual silence. The two had no illusions that they were friends. Sure in a time of a crisis they worked together, efficiently, but in moments like this it was quite clear neither wished to be around the other.

"So how is she?" Tony asked breaking the silence. Clint glanced over to him and shrugged.

"Fine, I guess." Clint replied not really wanting to get into this discussion. He figured his short answer would show the man that, but unfortunately for him either Tony didn't get the hint or just didn't care.

"I doubt that." Tony sighed turning away from the man. "You see she spent the past year and a half alone, she found out her father's death was part of some plot cooked up by HYDRA, the only family she has was kidnapped and hurt and in her head it was because of her, so I'm going to take a wild guess and say she's anything but fine." Tony glanced over to the man once again and decided to try again. "So I ask you once more, how is she?"

"Tough," Clint replied. "If she's affected, she's not showing it and I know the last thing she wants to do is talk about it."

"Who cares what she wants?" Tony replied and Clint turned to him with a look of annoyance. "She doesn't want to talk about it because that makes it easy. But her bottling all this crap inside of her is going to come out sooner or later and probably in a bad way. So if you love her like you say—"

"Stark, enough." Clint says his patience running thin with the man. Sure he knew he was right. He knew that Katie had been through a lot and even though she's trying her best to put up a front on the outside, that she was probably a wreck on the inside. But there was no way he was going to give Tony the satisfaction of knowing that he actually agreed with him on something.

"No, if you love her like you claim you will make sure she really is alright, you'll make her talk."

"Thanks for the advice, but how about you do everyone a favor and focus on your girlfriend who I don't think would be too happy to see you this up in arms about someone who isn't her." Clint replies as the doors slide open.

"She's my friend Barton," Tony replies before walking from the elevator, Clint following behind him begrudgingly. "And like it or not, I'm going to be hers."

"While we're here anyways." Clint says causing Tony to stop and turn to him.

"And what the hell does that mean?" Tony asked his playful tone more aggressive.

"It means how about you worry about your girlfriend and I'll worry about mine." Clint says turning to the door about to knock. Tony reaches up and types in a code on the pad next to the door and it suddenly opens.

"I'm going to have her change that." Clint says looking over to the man.

"Well until she does..." Tony says before stepping inside the apartment and stopping right in front of Clint before he could come inside. "Why don't you wait out here." and before the man could reply, Tony had closed the door in his face. "JARVIS, that door stays locked, alright buddy?"

"As you wish, sir," the AI replied. "But I do not believe Katie will be pleased with your juvenile display with Agent Barton."

"That's strange, because I actually think it'll make her laugh." Tony says sauntering into the apartment letting his eyes scan over the place. "Now where is my kitten?"

"She has just stepped out of the shower." JARVIS informed and Tony nodded before walking over to the window. He stood there until he heard footsteps.

"Did you break into my apartment?" he heard her ask and he smiled before turning to see her drying her hair with a towel as she wore one of the Stark bathrobes he'd placed in all the bathrooms.

"Actually, no." he said. "My place, I sort of have a key."

"Well you should know I'm going to change my key." Katie replied before walking over to him. "I expected a larger greeting from you. I thought there would be a marching band and baton throwing. I think I'm a little disappointed."

"Hey, you were supposed to come up with Matt, you missed the the flame throwing and the donkey show." Tony says and Katie just shook her head.

"It's just not a Tony Stark party with out a donkey show." she sighed before turning. "I'm going to get changed."

"Uh, wait," Tony calls startling her for a moment before she turns to him. "We should talk."

"We will, once I'm wearing more than this robe." Katie says with a nod before turning and heading to her bedroom. She stopped once again when she heard what sounded like knocking. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Tony asked innocently. "I don't hear anything. Nothing at all. Weren't you going to get changed so we could talk." Katie looked at him suspiciously before turning to go back to her room. She heard the knocking again and stopped.

"JARVIS is someone outside my door?" Katie asked.

"Don't answer that question JARVIS!" Tony called and Katie turned a glare to him. "Seriously all I'm asking for is like five minutes." she simply shook her head before walking over and pulling open the door to see a not too happy Clint Barton. He stormed into the room about to go over to Tony, but Katie simply placed herself in front of him.

"You're an asshole, you know that right?" Clint asked before looking down to Katie. "He locked me out there."

"Well I needed to talk to her without the ever-annoying presence of big bird," Tony quipped. Clint tried to go over to him, but Katie held him back.

"Can we please chill?" Katie said looking between the two men. "I don't know what's going on with you two right now, but I'm seriously not in the mood. You both will get kicked out if it doesn't stop."

"Well he started it!" both men say and Katie sighs at how childish they were being.

"And I'm ending it." she replies. "Now give me one minute to change and then we can start being friends again, ok?" neither said any thing. Katie just shook her head. "Just don't kill each other while I'm gone." and with that she turned and walked back to her bedroom.

"That wasn't funny Stark." Clint said when she was gone.

"That's odd, because I thought it was hilarious." Tony replies turned back to look out the window. There was a pitcher of water and so he poured himself a glass. "Don't you have something you could be doing right now?" he looked over his shoulder to the man. "I would like to talk to my friend alone."

"Too bad, because the last thing I'm doing right now is leaving her alone with you." Clint countered folding his arms over his chest.

"Well suit your self." Tony muttered before turning back to look out to the window.

Katie soon walked back out, now dressed in a simply pair of jeans and a tshirt. She looked between the two men and waited for someone to say something.

"Alright, I'm here. What's going on?" she asked

"I wanted to talk to you alone," Tony says turning to them. "But since that doesn't seem like it's going to happen, I guess I'll just come out with it." Katie nodded. "Where were you?" she knew that question was coming. No matter how much she tried to dodge it, she knew at some point she was going to have to come clean.

"It's complicated." she said not sure where to even begin.

"It doesn't seem that complicated Kat." Clint says and Katie looked over to him. Now they were just ganging up on her. "You were gone for a week and nobody knew where you were."

"Everyday I was waiting for that call," Tony added and Katie looked to him. "Everyday that passed and you still weren't found—" he shook his head. "Uncomplicate it for us."

"Mr. Stark, Ms. Potts has returned and is asking for you." JARVIS informed to Tony's annoyance.

"Tell her I'm busy." Tony replied.

"Don't do that." Katie said looking over to him. "You can go, this isn't a big deal."

"It is a big deal Kat!" Clint said and Katie sighed. She was avoiding the issues just like she'd been doing since she came back. "You were gone and there was nothing. We had nothing. Nowhere to even begin looking. Do you have any idea what that did to me?"

"I'm sorry, it wasn't my—" she let out a sigh. "Look I'm here now, I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. Why can't that be enough?"

"Because it's just not." Tony said before stalking out the door. Katie ran her hand through her damp hair before looking over to Clint who seemed to be refusing to even look at her.

"He's right," Clint says turning to her. "It's not enough." he took a step closer to her bringing them only inches apart. He towered over her and she looked up into his eyes. "You went into that carrier and then it blew up and you didn't come out. I deserve to know what the hell happened?" she closed her eyes and sighed. "Kat?"

"Fine," she says suddenly before opening her eyes. " You're right, you deserve to know and I'll tell you, but just listen to everything before you react." he nods before Katie pulls him over to sit on the couch beside her. "The truth is I don't remember much about that carrier after I blacked out, but I'm sure of one thing."

"What's that?"

"Bucky Barnes saved my life," she said with a slight smile. "Again." she saw the expected look of confusion with the crease of his forehead. "Bucky pulled me out of the water."

"And then...?"

"And then he pulled me into a stolen truck." Katie says seeing Clint's eyes go wide. "Before you overreact, just listen." Clint let out a sigh but nodded. "He wasn't trying to hurt me, he needed help and thought I was the one who could give it to him."

Tony stormed into his penthouse, walking straight to the table of alcohol he had sitting in the corner of the room.

"There you are." Pepper's voice said from behind him. He turned and she saw the glass of brown liquor in his hand. "It's early isn't it?"

"For me, it's never too early." Tony says with a tight smile before taking a sip.

"Is everything alright?" Pepper asked noticing his odd behavior. He simply shakes his head before pouring himself another glass. "You saw her didn't you?"

"Who?" Tony asked purposefully playing dumb. Pepper gave him a knowing look. "If by her you mean Katie, then yes I did see her and I saw Matthew and I even had the pleasure of seeing Agent Bird in my ass."

"Clint's here?" Pepper asks her tone obviously pleased. "That's great." Tony gave her a questioning look. "Why are you in a mood?"

"I asked her about the week and she wouldn't give me an answer." Tony says.

"Honestly Tony, she doesn't have to," Pepper says walking over to him. "And you shouldn't get so worked up over this. She's an adult and she's alive and safe. Just be happy that you have your friend back."

"Right," Tony says sitting the glass down before placing his hands around her waist. "You're right, just like you always are." her brought his lips to hers in a short but passion filled kiss. "How was your day?"

"Busy," Pepper says turning and walking over to pick up her phone. "With work and this party—" she stopped and looked over to him. "Wait, did you tell her?"

"No, I was going to, but it wasn't the right time." Tony replied and Pepper gave him a look, "Pep, I'm going to tell her."

"Soon, because I'm going to need to know whose going to be at this party if we want there to be enough food." Pepper says looking back down to her phone. "Crap, my phone's about to die." she smiles over to Tony. "I'll be right back." she turns and head to their bedroom.

"Speaking of phones did you get the—"

"Coffee table!" she calls back already knowing what he was about to ask. Tony looks down to the coffee table to see the box. He walked over and tore it open to reveal the Stark phone. It was Katie's, since he was pretty sure her's was destroyed in her last escapade. He had it configured with the same numbers and passwords as the last one. It was going to be his gift to her. Now he was going to have to calm himself before he gave it to her. He powered it up to make sure everything was working properly, and the moment he did he noticed that she already had a missed call and a voice message. His conscience was telling him not to do what he was thinking about doing, but for some reason the message didn't make it to his fingers because he was already typing away.

"Sir, I don't think—"

"No nagging JARVIS." Tony interrupted before bringing the phone to his ear. He took a deep breath before listening to the unfamiliar voice.

" _Uh, it's me. I figure that's good enough given the circumstances. I wouldn't be expecting many of these calls, but I think I just had to make this one..."_


	13. Chapter 13

There were times Katie would've killed for silence, but at the moment it seemed to be killing her. She laid in her bed staring up to the ceiling trying to will herself to go to sleep, but every time she closed her eyes, her life up until this point would flash in her mind. It wasn't something she cared to think about. A hand, not her own, lazily slid up her stomach and rested right on her breast. She looked over to Clint who was out like a light. He was trained to handle the twists and turns that came with his life and was able to sleep afterwards. She thought she could too, but every time she closed her eyes...well you know. She let out a tired sigh before reaching down and sliding his hand from her before trying to slide from the bed. Only one foot had touched the floor before she was caught.

"Where are you going?" Clint asked groggily looking over to her.

"I can't sleep." she whispered before sliding back in bed and running her fingers through his hair. "Go back to sleep, I'm just going to wander around for a bit."

"Are you alright?" he asked lifting his head slightly.

"I'm fine, I guess I'm not as tired as I thought." she said before pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Go to sleep, I won't be gone long. And if you need me just ask JARVIS to tell you where I am." Clint simply nodded before laying back down. Katie pressed another kiss to the top of his head before standing from the bed and quietly walking into the living room. She grabbed her hoodie and slipped it on, along with a pair of kitten slippers she found in her closet.

The first place she ended up was on the medical unit. She hadn't seen Matthew the rest of the day after their fight. She walked out onto the floor where she found a nurse sitting at a desk reading a book. The woman looked over to Katie and stood to her feet.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked.

"I'm Katie, Matthew's sister." Katie replied and the woman simply smiled. "How is he doing?"

"He's here and there. His physical scars are healing, but I think mentally and emotionally he's going to need a lot of time."

"What do you mean?"

"He's been having nightmares. I've been running in and out because of his heart rate increasing. I gave him a mild sedative a few minutes ago which should help him sleep through the night. I suggested he maybe talk with someone, but he shot the idea down."

"He's too proud to admit he needs help." Katie sighed.

"Well maybe you could talk to him." the nurse suggested and Katie simply nodded. "His room is right down that hall." Katie turned and saw a door at the end of a short hallway. "I'll be right out here if you need anything." Katie simply nodded before walking down the hall.

She pushed open the door to the large medical room that looked like anything but a medical room. Tony seemed to have had it designed as if it were a normal bedroom except for the few monitors around. Matthew laid, seamlessly sound asleep, but she did notice the slight tightening of his eye lids. She walked over and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm so sorry." she whispered unable to not feel guilty. He was fine once upon a time. A very well adjusted young man and because of her he'd been tossed in a room and used as a punching bag. And even though he was right here, safe, she knew that when he closed his eyes he still found himself in that room. She leaned forward and placed a kiss on top of his head before resting her forehead against his. "You're alright now. You're safe." she could see him subtly staring to relax. She gave his hand a gently squeeze before deciding to let him sleep.

"He still sleeping?" the nurse asked as Katie simply nodded. "Good, part of the recovery process is just getting rest."

"He was sleep for a week." Katie replied.

"A week is nothing." the woman said with a shake of her head. "His body needs time to heal, but he's stubborn. That much I've learned from these past couple of hours. But I'm more stubborn. He's going to get through this and I'm going to make sure of it.

"You know I don't think I got your name."

"I'm Blair Daniels, Mr. Stark has taken to calling me Nurse Blair, but just Blair is fine." the woman replied with a smile.

"Well it was nice meeting you Blair and thanks for all you're doing for my brother."

"Don't thank me yet. Thank me when he's finally walking out of here." the woman replied and Katie simply nodded.

"Can you call me if he has another nightmare?" Katie asked.

"Sure will and I'll let my relief nurse know to do the same." Blair replied. Katie gave the woman a final nod before turning and stepping back onto the elevator. She wondered where she should head next when a thought suddenly struck her.

"JARVIS, is the lab empty right now?" Katie asked.

"Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark have both retired from the lab." JARVIS informed. "Would you like me to take you there?"

"Yes, please." Katie replied before letting her back rest against the wall. She felt the swift movements of the elevator before it finally stopped and the doors slid open. The moment her feet stepped out of the elevator, Katie simply marveled at the sight before her. She'd been here before, but it would seem that in her absence Tony had made a few changes. She knew he would though. He just had to be doing something and his lab was his favorite play thing. She walked further into the shimmering of his holographic projectors, computer based design tools, and a few new suits that looked completely rebooted since the last time she saw them. The sound of something moving caused her to turn around, but she simply laughed.

"Long time no see Dummy." she said walking over to the robot who looked as if he had a make over as well. "You're looking shiny these days." the robot simply opened and closed his metallic hand and Katie shook her head. "Why do I always get the feeling that you're the smartest person around here?" his hand opened and closed again and Katie simply laughed. She walked over to the large holographic projector that sat in the middle of the lab. "JARVIS, I'm supposed to be receiving some files, can you check my private database to see if they have arrived."

"Right away." JARVIS replied. "Yes, there seemed to be a few files that have been added. One is marked as urgent, sender is unknown." soon the files appeared on the screen and Katie reached up to swipe them open. She opened the files Fury sent, one containing Coulson's team, the other was the known listed HYDRA members that were embedded in SHIELD. "JARVIS, I need you to access a file in my database titled SHEPARD. I want you to use it to see if there are any matches between file A and file B. Once the scan is complete send me the results."

"As you wish Katie." JARVIS replied. Katie watched as files opened and soon the screen seemed to be filled with rapidly moving numbers and letters. She heard the sound of the elevator opening behind her. "JARVIS, complete the scan in shadow mode." suddenly the screen went blank before she turned to see a familiar face. "Well if it isn't my favorite jolly green giant." she walked over to him and did what he didn't expect. She hugged him. "It's good to see you."

"You too," Bruce said awkwardly returning the hug. "Tell you the truth, I didn't think I would see you again." Katie pulled back from the hug and looked to him confused. "I thought you'd be as far away from anything as possible."

"You thought I would run?" Katie asked and he simply nodded. "I think I'm over that whole phase in my life. I thought I could actually run from the things I didn't want to deal with, but it would seem that was impossible. So here I am:"

"Yeah, here you are." Bruce says before looking up to the screen. "Screen on!" suddenly the projector screen behind Katie powers on, but it's blank. "What were you doing before I came in."

"Just getting a lay of the new land." Katie says looking up to the screen. "I helped design this lab and a year and a half later I don't even recognize it."

"That's because Tony can't stand still for two minutes." Bruce said turning back to her. "So I went up to see Matthew earlier. He seems to be in good spirits about his rehabilitation. Most of the damage seems to be superficial, with a little time and patience, he should be up and annoying me in no time."

"I hope so." Katie replied with a slight shake of her head. "I hope he can get back to his life and that this hasn't totally damaged him."

"He's resilient," Bruce said. "And I'm sure Tony will help him forget by throwing expensive, shiny things in his face. It's the Tony Stark way of psychological help." Katie chuckled before looking around the lab. "So did you hear the news yet?"

"There's news?" Katie asked turning back to the doctor. Bruce was unsure if he should be the one to spill the beans on this one. Especially since he wasn't sure of the outcome.

"Maybe Tony should be the one to tell you." Bruce said before turning back to the projector.

"Well is it bad?"

"No, not at all, I just don't think it's my place to say." Bruce replied. Katie would've pushed him, but she decided that it was late and she would give him a break. "So why can't you sleep?"

"My brain won't shut off." Katie sighed walking over to what looked like plans. She began swiping away as Bruce walked over. "This looks interesting."

"Oh, Tony's been working on upgrading the energy from the arc reactors that are powering the suit. We've been working on this one for a while." Bruce watched as her eyes scanned over the code and algorithms pensively. "Maybe you could lend an ear some time?"

"Absolutely." Katie replied before swiping the files away and looking up to Bruce. "What else have you guys been working on?" Bruce simply shook his head before leading her over to the central station.

It was late and Tony should be in bed lying next to his beautiful girlfriend, but instead he sat in front of a blaring fireplace looking down to a cell phone that wasn't his. If he heard the message correctly, it would seem that there still maybe people after Katie. He wasn't sure what to do with that information. Telling Bruce or Pepper would get him the same answer. They would tell him to just stay out of it, especially since his only proof was a voice mail sent by someone he didn't even know. There was only one person he would get answers from and at the moment he didn't care how late it was. He was going to get them.

"JARVIS, is Katie sleep?" Tony asked standing to his feet. "Well it doesn't matter if she is or not."

"Actually, Katie and Dr. Banner are in the lab sir." JARVIS replied and Tony stopped with a look of confusion. "Would you like me to tell Katie that you're looking for her?"

"No, I'll go to them." Tony replied already heading for his personal elevator. "If they're having a brilliant minds meeting without me, there will be hell to pay." Tony was actually whistling as he rode the elevator down to the lab. He'd be lying if he told you that he didn't miss her. Sure he had Bruce and Pepper and even had a visit from Rhodey every now and again, but they weren't her. There were times when he was fooling around in the lab and wished she was there to add to his madness in the way that only she could. He shook his head because he knew it was crazy, and yet the feelings were still there. He really did miss his friend. The doors to the elevator slid open and her voice was the first thing he heard.

"Stop being a little bitch about it!" Katie's voice echoed and Tony found himself instantly curious as he stepped off the elevator.

"I'm not being a bitch, I just don't want to stick it in there!" Bruce replied which only made Tony's ears perk up even more. "I know we're friends and all, but I'm not doing that."

"I'm telling you once you do it, it'll change your life." Katie said. "Stick it in, move it around a little bit and I promise it will change your life."

"I'm not sticking anything into anywhere, now stop touching it!" Bruce said and Tony heard Katie laughing at him.

"Ok, what are you two doing and why wasn't I invited." Tony said finally making his presence known. Katie and Bruce look up from their place over to the man who walks over to see what they're doing. "Oh, you're looking at Bruce's anti-viagra device." Katie laughed again looking to the annoyed face of Bruce. "I don't know why you're even bothering, you don't need it."

"Like I've told you, the other guy is unpredictable and uncontrollable and in the case that he decides to destroy another city, I would at least like a back up plan."

"We have a back up plan." Tony replied. "His name is Thor."

"I need more than that." Bruce said with a shake of his head. "I need to know that if he takes over, I still can live with myself afterwards."

"So this thing draws out the gamma energy that makes up the other guy, weakening him?" Katie asked and Bruce nodded.

"Well that's what it will do, once I'm finished." Bruce replied looking down to the bulky device. "It's still a work in progress until I can figure a power source that's strong enough to draw out that kind of energy."

"Have you tried—"

"The arcs, yes and it's not strong enough." Bruce said pulling off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "Right now I'm just tripple checking everything to see if I'm missing something."

"Would you like me to look?" Katie asked and Bruce looked over to her. "C'mon, this—the numbers, I'm actually a whiz , so take advantage of me while you can."

"That's what I plan to do." Tony says with a shrug and Katie looked over to him to see a mischievous smile on his face. He was definitely not talking about anything that had to do with science and so she punched him in the arm. "Hey, my lab is a violence free zone."

"Says the man who’s building weaponized suits." Katie muttered before turning back to Bruce. "But yeah, I'll take a look at it if you want. A second set of eyes can't hurt."

"Yeah, sure. I'll send them to you." Bruce replied before looking over to Tony. "So what's your reason for not being sleep?" Tony's smile grew before he opened his mouth, but Katie quickly clasp of hand over it before he could speak.

"Are you about to say something outstandingly inappropriate?" Katie asked and he simply nodded her hand still over his mouth. "Then why don't you just keep it to yourself?"

"I second that." Bruce added as Katie removed her hand.

"So you still mad at me?" She asked and Tony shook his head. "Really?"

"What, I don't dwell on the little stuff." Tony said carelessly looking down to his fingernails. "Plus you're a big girl, you don't want to tell me where you disappeared to for a whole week while I was worried sick that something terrible had happened to you, then fine. That's your perogative."

"Wait," Bruce says and they turned to him. "Where were you after the carrier incident?"

"Weren't you listening, it's some deep dark secret that she's refusing to tell." Tony answered for her. Katie gave him an unamused look before turning to Bruce.

"It's not a secret, it's—"

"It's a secret."

"Is not."

"Well by definition it is?"

"You're a child." Katie countered before turning back to Bruce. "And it's not a secret, I'm just not choosing to talk about it." Bruce looked at her for a moment before looking over to Tony.

"That's a secret." Bruce said and Katie huffed in annoyance tossing her hands in the air.

"Fine you want to know where I was, then I'll just tell you." Katie said looking between the two. "I was abducted by asgardians again, taken to Odin who forced me to marry Loki. On the day of our wedding I was able to get back to the bifrost and convince Heimdall to send me home." she let out a breath waited for them to react in someway. They shared a look before Bruce finally spoke.

"I'm going to bed." he said dismissively before looking back to Katie. "Keep your secrets, just as long as it doesn't bite any of us in the ass later." he gave her shoulder a squeeze before nodding to Tony and heading for the elevator. Once he was gone Tony and Katie turned to each other and simply stared without words. After a few moments Katie rolled her eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to tap into our psychic genius powers to make you just tell me the truth." Tony said and Katie shook her head.

"That would imply that I'm telling you a lie, which I'm not. I'm just choosing to not share certain details that I feel will not add anything to anything."

"It will add knowledge, peace of mind." Tony replied. "Seriously after everything we've been through you still can't trust me?"

"Are you really trying to guilt trip me right now?" Katie asked before moving past him, bumping his shoulder as she did. "This is not about me not trusting you, this is about me not letting my life explode onto everyone I care about." she turned back to him. "You're good, your life is great so sue me for trying to keep it that way. Honestly I'm fine, and I wasn't anywhere doing anything sordid or dangerous."

"That's kind of hard to believe." Tony said before reaching into his pocket and pulling out her cell phone. "I got you a new phone, figuring the old one was probably destroyed by crazy terrorists." he handed her the phone. "You have a voice mail."

"That you listened to?" Katie asked. He didn't look guilty, he simply shrugged. She shook her head before pressing a button and bringing it to her ear. Soon Bucky's voice began speaking and the confusion was evident in her face. Tony tilted his head slightly watching her face portray an array of emotions as she listened. Soon she pulled the phone from her ear and simply looked down to it before looking back up to Tony.

"Who was that?"

"Bucky." she replied to Tony's surprise.

"I'm sorry, did you just say Bucky?" Tony asked. "As in Bucky Barnes aka Winter Soldier, aka bastard who nearly beat your brother to death?" Katie simply glared but nodded. "That sounded like a very chummy message, I didn't know you were friends with a seventy year old psychopath." Katie shook her head before moving past him to get to the elevator but he caught her arm. "No, you're not just going to walk out on me. Not again, and not on this."

"What do you want?"

"What have I been standing here asking for?" Tony asked. "I want the truth. I want to know that this call was just a prank and that you're still not in some kind of danger." Katie looked down to the phone again, Bucky's words still playing in her head. "Katie-"

"I was with Bucky." Katie said looking back up to him. "When the carrier was destroyed we all fell out. Steve was hurt pretty bad, and I was too." she moved the front of her hair back to reveal a scar. "I don't know what happened to him, but Bucky started to remember who he was and he pulled me and Steve out of that water." She let out a deep sigh. "He left Steve and took me with him."

"Took you where, exactly?"

"On a road trip." She replied looking to his puzzled look. "It was a lot to take in, he was freaking out and he needed help wrapping his head around it. I'm the only one he knows who's come close to knowing what it's like to have been so far gone because of something SHIELD or HYDRA did and lived to tell about it. He needed some direction as to where to go next and he thought I would give it to him."

"And?"

"I told him that I would help him, but that help would have to be with my family. I wasn't going to run again and it seems that's all he wanted to do and so we parted ways. I gave him my number, but I didn't really expect a call." she looked down to the phone again. "I definitely didn't expect this call."

"Do you know what he's talking about?" Tony asked and Katie simply shook his head.

"I always had the feeling that Pierce had ulterior motives for taking Matt, but I didn't know it was for information. I have a lot of information swimming around in my head."

"What's in there that a crazy person would want?" Tony asked and Katie simply shrugged.

"I know this awesome oatmeal cookie recipe." she replied and Tony didn't look amused. He was wearing his serious face and she hated it.

"This isn't funny." Tony said which was a travesty in itself. No one was as childish and as immature as the man in front of her and the fact that he was actually being serious was something she didn't like. "You could be in danger. We have to—"

"No." Katie said placing a hand over his mouth once again. "I'm not letting this cryptic phone call change my life. I'm going to delete it." he muffled something through her hand which she figured was him opposing the idea. "No, I'm deleting it from my phone and we're going to just pretend like we never heard it. And you're definitely not telling Bart about this, because I promise you if he thinks I'm in danger, you won't see me anymore because I'd be locked up in some underground safe house." Tony reached up and pulled her hand from his mouth.

"I don't oppose that idea." Tony said and Katie clasped her hand back over his mouth to stop him from talking.

"Right now all we have are the words of a recently amnesic man who doesn't really know who he is at the moment. If something happens to back this up, then we deal with it. But until then we focus on the here and now. Deal?" he narrowed his eyes and she simply smiled. "Will it make you feel any better if I tell you that I will wear one of your stupid tracking devices?" Tony nods and Katie finally removes her hand.

"I'll have one for you tomorrow." Tony replied and Katie just rolled her eyes. "Katie—"

"I know," she said turning back to him. "If I suspect anything is wrong, I'll let you guys know." Tony took a step forward bringing them closer together before placing his hands on her shoulders.

"If you feel like you're in danger, you let me know." Tony ordered and Katie simply nodded to appease him. "Good, now—" he looked up and let his eyes glaze over the lab. "What do you think of our baby?"

"Our baby?" Katie asked looking over to him. "All my designs are totally gone and replaced with your flashy, look at me decor." she shook her head. "This lab screams Tony Stark."

"What about that?" Tony said pointing over her shoulder. Katie followed his eyes and the moment she saw it she burst out laughing. It was a wall mural of white kitten. "See when you were gone and I would miss you I would look to the wall and know that my kitten was never really far away."

"That's so disturbing," Katie said looking over to the wall. "But from you, it's borderline—"

"Sexy, masculine, intelligent?" Tony asked looking over to her. "All of the above is an option as well."

"You're still the same self centered asshole I know and love." Katie said with a shake over her head before scooting back and sitting on a nearby table. "So tell me what I've missed while I was gone."

"Alright, uh we named Evelyn Miller the new CD of the company and she seems to be doing well." Tony said rolling over a chair and sitting in front of her.

"I did read that, she's a totally better choice than that last asshole you had." Katie replied. "But that's not what I want to know. I used to read about the company all then time while I was gone. What I want to know is what's new with you?" she pointed to his chest. "How's life without a light bulb in your chest?" Tony looked down to his shirt and shrugged.

"It's an adjustment." Tony replied rubbing a hand over his chest where the reactor once sat. "But I think I'm getting use to not glowing in the dark. And now at least when people stare at my chest it's because of my awesome body." Katie let out a light laugh that was followed by a yawn. "Looks like someone's ready to call it a night."

"No," Katie says with a shake of her head. "I want to talk, so talk."

"About?"

"How are things with you and Pepper? I haven't seen her around yet, I hope she's not avoiding me."

"No, she's just really busy being superwoman." Tony replied. "She's running a company and planning a—" he coughed the end of the sentence making it totally hard to understandable.

"What?" Katie asked leaning a bit closer. "Planning a what?" Tony sat back in his seat and folded his arms over his chest. "Seriously, talk."

"We're getting married." Tony said abruptly and Katie's eyes widened. He waited for a response, but she simply sat there silently staring at him. "Say something."

"Wow," Katie said simply. "That's a—that's really—" why was she stumbling over her words? "Great, like really great."

"That was horrible." Tony said with a shake of his head. "How about the truth this time?"

"That was the truth." Katie says hopping off the table. "I'm really happy for you guys and I wish you all the best." her words didn't sound too believable and they both knew it. "I should get back up stairs before Bart starts looking for me."

"I thought you wanted to talk?"

"I did and we did so now I'm good." Katie says before turning and heading for the elevator. Tony watched her, unsure what the hell was going on, but he didn't stop her. For some reason he doesn't think he wants to know what this is. It seemed like it maybe drifting to that part of their relationship they weren't suppose to entertain.

"There's a party tomorrow." Tony says before glancing down to his watch. "Actually, tonight. An engagement party or whatever." Katie looks over to him. "I'm telling you this because you are legally obligated to be there as my best friend."

"Well then I guess I will just have to be there then." Katie says with a small smile before stepping onto the elevator. "See ya later." she gave him a small wave as the doors closed. As soon as they did, she dropped her hand to her side and the smile from her face fell instantly.

The next morning she sat at the table in their small kitchen eating a bowl of cereal. She looked up to Clint whose sour face hadn't wavered since she told him about the party tonight.

"Do we really have to go?" he asked for the hundredth time since she told him. "I think I would rather poke my eyes out then spend an evening with a bunch of Tony and Pepper's uptight, stick in their ass friends."

"You'll have me to keep you company." Katie said with a smile before looking down to her cereal. "Plus we probably won't have to be there long. I mean we say hi, give some well wishes and duck out during the toast." she looked back over to him. "I'd say an hour, tops."

"I'm holding you to that." Clint replied reaching over and taking her hand in his before pressing a gentle kiss to her knuckles.

"Well you keep that up and we're not going to make it to any party tonight." Katie sighed closing her eyes as his lips touched her hand again.

"Well that's an idea isn't it?" Clint replied and Katie looked over to him. "You, me, alone. I'm sure with our combined imaginations, it is sure to be a great night."

"Bart, I have to go to this party." Katie replied pulling her hand to him. "And it looks like I'm going to have to get as far away from you to make that happen." Clint narrowed his eyes playfully, a familiar glint hard to miss. "Clint Barton, you better not—" she felt his hand touch her thigh under the table and she jumped to her feet and Clint did the same slowly moving toward her. "We're going to this party and you—" she squealed when he reached to grab her, but she back away. She was trying to be serious, but the smile on her face probably wasn't helping. "You are going to keep it in your pants. You will not seduce me." she began easing toward the door as he moved closer to her. "I"m being serious.”

"Yeah, I can tell." Clint said with a smile of his own. "I just think tonight could be put to better use. It's been a long time since we—" he wagged his eyes brows and Katie simply shook her head. "Waiting any more is just torture."

"Fine, then how about we compromise. We go to this party for at least an hour—" Clint groaned but Katie took only a few steps toward him, her hands resting on his chest. "And I promise that afterwards our waiting is over." she saw that glint in his eyes once more before he brought his lips to her. This kiss wasn't as chaste as she hoped it would be, but passionate. It was distracting and today, with so much to do, she couldn't be distracted. So she forced herself to pull from the kiss, her breath jagged as Clint's hands seemed to be wrapped around her. "So do we have a deal?" he opened his mouth to speak when a ringing phone interrupted him. Katie reached behind her, pulling her phone from her pocket and looking down to the screen.

"Where did you get that?" Clint asked.

"Tony gave it to me." Katie replied quickly before bringing the phone to her ear. "Blair, hey is everything alright?" the nurse was just calling to inform Katie that Matthew was awake. Katie let out a sigh of relief. "Ok, I should be there soon." she hung up the phone and looked back up to Clint's clearly annoyed face. "That was Matthew's nurse calling to tell me that he was up." the expression still didn't change. "Ok, what's with the face?"

"When did you see Tony?" Clint asked and Katie groaned loudly before pulling out of his grasp. She was well aware that Clint was a bit of a jealous man and the fact that she was friends with another man whom he didn't care for probably annoyed him to no ends.

"Last night when I went wandering the tower. I stopped in to see Matt for a little while and then I went to check out the lab. Bruce showed up and then Tony did too. He gave me this because he figured I needed it, which I did." Katie rambled off not liking this part of her relationship. She didn't like having to defend herself to him. "It wasn't a big deal."

"It is a big deal because that guy is too close to you," Clint replied with a shake of his head. "And I don't like it."

"Tony's my friend Bart, you knew that. Hell that's what SHEILD was hoping for when they found out he found me." Katie said. "Tony is also the only person in my life who didn't turn his back on me when everyone else just thought I was being paranoid." Katie walked back over to him and placed a kiss to his cheek. "Tony's in my life and so are you. You have to come to terms with that at some point."

"At least for as long as we're here." Clint said and Katie brought her eyes to his. "Which if I remember correctly shouldn't be long after Matt back up and running."

"You're ready to go, already?" she asked. She knew he didn't want to come here to begin with, but figured that once they actually got here, he'd change his mind. "Where are you so in a hurry to go?"

"Somewhere far away from everyone. Somewhere I can have you all to myself and somewhere I know you're safe." Clint replied leaning his forehead to rest against hers. "I don't want to lose you again."

"You won't." she replied before bring her lips to his. "I'm your girl and you're my guy." he smiled before watching her turn and walk away. "And you're coming to see Matt, because you two need to get along as well."

"I can't wait until this day is over." Clint muttered with a shake of his head before following after her.

Bruce woke up that morning like he did every morning, walking to the kitchen for a cup of tea. This morning however was different because there was someone waiting for him in his kitchen.

"Tony?" Bruce said not expecting to see him. "What-" he looked around to see if there were anymore surprise visitors before turning back to the man. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I need to talk and you're the only person I can talk to." Tony said.

"And you couldn't call or have JARVIS tell me about this before you broke into my apartment?

"I didn't break in, I just didn't want to wake you to let me in when I could do it myself. Is that a crime?"

"Actually it is." Bruce replied before turning and grabbing his tea pot. He had the feeling he was going to need it. "What is this about?"

"I told her." Tony said and Bruce looked over his shoulder for more clarification. "Katie, I told her about the wedding."

"And?"

"And she started acting weird." Tony replied.

"I'm going to need more than that." Bruce said turning to him. "She kind of is weird, you're weird. All of us are weird. It's how we've come to be in each other's lives."

"I don't know how to explain it, but I think—" Tony brought his eyes to Bruce. "I think she was acting weird because she has non friend like feelings for me." Bruce didn't say anything at first, just simply stared as if waiting for something else. "What are you thinking?"

"You don't want to know what I'm thinking." Bruce said before grabbing the pot and going over to the sink and filling it with water. "Go home Tony, prepare for this obnoxious party and just leave me out of whatever the hell this is."

"Hey, you're my friend and I'm freaking out about this." Tony says standing to his feet and walking over to lean on the counter beside Bruce. "I mean what am I supposed to do? Do I talk to her about it, I mean I think I should."

"Tony, you do nothing about anything." Bruce said before turning and walking back over to the stove. "You're supposed to do nothing but get married and not worry about if your friend was acting weird because she likes you."

"That's your advice, just ignore what I saw last night?"

"That's exactly what you should do because in the end all you have is what you think you saw or what you wanted to see and either way that is a _you_ problem." Bruce sat the pot on the stove and turned to Tony. "So forget what you think you saw and go on with your life, because Tony if you dwell on this I promise you're going to ruin your life." Tony turned away in thought and after a few moments turned back.

"You're right, I should just let this go." Tony said with a nod before abruptly walking out the door.

"I can't wait until this day is over." Bruce muttered before turning to check on his tea.

Katie and Clint walked down the short hallway to Matthew’s room, but stopped right in the door when they realized that he wasn't alone.

"I didn't know you had a visitor." Katie spoke and both Matthew and Pepper turned to them. Katie looked over the woman whose hair was slightly shorter than she remembered. Something else Katie seemed to notice was how she was glowing. She was happy and it was obvious. "We can come back later."

"No, I was just leaving." Pepper said standing to her feet. "I have a lot to do before this party tonight, but thought I would come see Matt before I did." she gave the man a hug before walking over to Clint and Katie. "It's really good to see you."

"You too," Katie replied with a smile. "And congratulations. Tony told me about the wedding and I'm so happy for you guys."

"Thank you." Pepper said. "I know he'd been dying to tell you and now that he has he can finally ask you to—" Pepper stopped and bit her bottom lip. "I should probably let him tell you."

"Tell me what?" Katie asked.

"It's nothing bad I promise, but he would kill me if I took his moment." Pepper replied when her phone buzzed. She looked down and shook her head. "No, no, no." she looked back to Katie and smiled. "I have to kill someone now. Bye." and with that the woman was rushing out of the room.

"So have you stopped being such a girl today?" Matthew asked and Katie turned a glare to him.

"I didn't mean to over step my boundaries and for that I'm sorry." Katie said. "I was worried about you for days and I guess I may have been holding on too tight. I know I'm not your mother—"

"Rinny—" Matthew started but she held up a hand to stop him.

"I get you're an adult and can make your own decisions and I promise to actually let you do that in the future." Katie said before releasing a long sigh. " I hope you can find it within yourself to forgive me." Matthew looked at her long and hard before speaking.

"What the hell was that?" he asked and Katie cracked a smile. "Did you just apologize?"

"I think that's what I did." Katie said before walking over to him. "So how are you feeling today?"

"Great, and Nurse B thinks I might be able to go to the party tonight." Matthew said and Katie could tell that he was happy about it. "I'm going stir crazy in this room." Katie looked around the spacious room and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah these conditions are just horrible." she muttered.

"So you going?"

"Tony sort of guilted me into it, so yes me and Bart will see you there." Katie said looking over to Clint who still stood by the door looking very uncomfortable. "Do you want to sit?"

"I'm good here." he muttered glancing around the room. Katie looked over to Matthew who shook his head before turning back to her.

"You know what, I have to find something to wear to this thing, so I should go." she looked back over to Clint. "Why don't you stay here so you two can get to know each other?"

"Wait, what, uh no." Matthew protested.

"Kat, I don't think that's a good idea." Clint added looking over to her brother.

"Well like it or not, I love you two more than anything in this world so it would mean everything to me if you would just get along." Katie looked between the two men. "Guys really just for me, do this. I know both of you and know you two have a lot in common, so break down each others walls and get to know each other." they looked over to her with confusion written all over their faces. "I watched a lot of Dr. Phil while I was gone, but that's not the point." she tossed her bag over her shoulder and moved toward the door. "Talk and then talk some more." and with that she left them alone. Clint looked over his shoulder to see her stepping onto the elevator before turning back to Matthew who simply folded his arms over his chest in annoyance.

"Look I don't want to be here as much as you don't want me to be here," Clint says. "But I'm here to make her happy, so how about you at least give me a chance." Matthew shook his head turning away from the man. "Why the hell don't you like me, I mean I'm a very likable person." Matthew turned a glare to him.

"The first time I saw my sister in years was because the people she worked for were hunting her down and instead of running to safety, she stopped and waited for you. And you know what you did? You didn't show up." Matthew sat up from the bed, finding his need to hit the man in front of him growing more and more with each passing minute. "So right there, first impression just fucked. And then she let herself be caught just so she could see you, to I don't know save you and you know what you did then?"

"Look, Matt—"

"It's Matthew to you and I'm not finished. She went there to save you, which you clearly needed since for some reason you believed that the people you worked for weren't the bad guys."

"There was no need for me to believe they were!"

"She believed they were and that should've been your reason!" Matthew snapped. "Was she crazy, delusional, or paranoid, it didn't matter, because if you loved her you would've made sure."

"What do you think I did?" Clint asked stalking to the side of the man's bed. "I let her go to embed myself at SHIELD to find out the truth."

"Oh, please!" Matthew huffed in annoyance. "You stayed behind because you made a decision. You chose SHIELD over her and concocted this story about finding the truth from the inside to justify it. In the end you made a choice and because of that choice my sister ran again, thinking the man she loved didn't love her the way she thought."

"You don't know what you're talking about." Clint muttered before turning and walking toward the door.

"Or maybe I'm making all the sense in the world!" Matthew called after him and Clint stopped just short of the door. "You made a choice and how much do you want to bet that even after everything that has happened, you'd make it again." Clint turned back, a slight look of anger crossing his face. "You can pout all you want, agent dick, but if you got a call right now from Fury and he says he's getting the band back together and he needs you back, what would you say?" Matthew asked and as expected Clint was silent. The archer turned away in thought. He didn't want him to be right, but the answer to that question did just that. The silence was answer enough for Matthew. "That's why I don't like you Mr. likable. That's also the reason that when I get out of this bed I'm going to make sure my sister sees it to." Clint turned back to Matthew. "You're going to hurt her again, you know it. And this time its going to hurt like hell because of all the hope for a brighter future you're feeding her. You know that call is coming at some point and you already know what your answer's going to be. Just let her go before it gets too far, because I promise that if my sister gets so heartbroken that she feels she has to disappear again, then I promise, secret assassin agent or not, I'm going to hurt you." Clint didn't say anything to that. There was nothing to say and for that reason Clint simply turned and walked away.

Matthew sat in his bed slightly guilty over what he’d just done. But there was another part of him glad he finally said it. His sister deserved better than some guy whose done nothing but hurt her. He looked back up to his door to see the familiar face of Nurse Blair looking to him with very judgmental eyes.

"What?"

"I heard what you said to him and if your sister finds out she's going to kill you." the nurse said before turning and walking away. "And I'm not going to stop her!"

Katie hated shopping and that she blamed on her father. When she was younger he usually ridiculed things he deemed childish. He always made sure she knew that her survival was more important than material things. So as she walked through the stores, looking at dress after dress, she found herself not particularly fond of anything. They were all overpriced, often ugly frocks that she wouldn't be caught dead in.

Her last hope was a second hand store she used to go to when she liver here. Katie walked down the aisle, sifting through the racks for something worthy enough to be worn at a Stark party. She was so focused on searching that she nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt someone grab her hand. Katie turned quickly ready to attack, but pulled back when she saw it was only a small child no older that ten or eleven.

"Can I help you?" she asked and the boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper before handing it to her. Not sure what else to do she took the paper before the boy turned and high tailed it out of there. "Wait!" she called running after him out of the store, but he was gone. A drop of water hit the crown of her head causing her to lift her eyes to sky as it began raining. Katie quickly dipped back into the store before opening the paper the boy had given her. It was an address and time, with the message, " _You still have what we want"_ It didn't make sense, and for a moment she thought the boy had given it to the wrong person, but then her mind goes back to the voice mail from Bucky.

" _He wanted you there because he needed something from you. Something he thought you knew. I never found out what, but I heard him talk about it a couple of times when he thought I wasn't listening. I think there was someone else though. Someone who was feeding him this information."_

She wanted to believe that Bucky was wrong, that there wasn't any more trouble headed her way, but then a boy in a store handed her a slip of paper. She looked back down to the message trying to think up how to handle this situation. A part of her wanted to just ball up the paper and toss it aside, while the other part of her knew that if she didn't go, she'd always be wondering what if. She'd knew she'd always be looking over her shoulder and that's the one thing she didn't want. And now she found herself in a dilemma.


	14. Chapter 14

That night Tony stared at himself in the full body mirror, his tailored black tuxedo fitting him in all the right places. Now Tony wasn't a vain man, but...wait, yes he was.

"It should literally be a crime to look this good." he said with a sly smile while straightening his tie. He froze the moment he caught sight of Pepper in the mirror as well, and he forgot to breathe. Tony whipped around to see his fiance wearing a long, red silk gown that had a slit that ran just below her thigh. "Whoa." was the only word he could verbalize at the moment.

"So what do you think?" Pepper asked spinning around to give him a good look at the dress.

"I think we should skip the party and stay in." Tony said walking over to her admiring how good the dress looked on her and imagining that she would look even better with it on the floor.

"Well if it wasn't a party in our honor I would consider it." Pepper replied before reaching up and straightening his tie a bit. "So did you ask Katie, yet?"

"No. I haven't seen her today." Tony says turning away slightly. Pepper noticed the slight worry in his eyes and didn't understand it. It had slightly worried her the moment Tony told her that Katie and the others were coming to the tower. She felt silly at the twinge of jealously that erupted inside of her. It was their relationship that she thought she understood. That she thought she was alright with, but every time he said her name, it seemed different and Pepper just didn't understand. She simply shook her head before placing her hands on either side of his face and bringing his eyes to hers.

"I'm sure she's fine. This is our engagement party. A party celebrating the fact that very soon I'm going to be Mrs. Stark." Tony smiled bringing his hands to her hips and pulling her into a kiss. "We should go before we miss our own party." Tony grumbled under his breath, but nodded and went anyway.

They saw Bruce waiting at the entrance looking very dashing in his tailored suit as well. Though it was obvious how uncomfortable the man was, simply by the way he was standing.

"Brucey, you handsome devil you." Tony jokes as they walk over to him. "If you're not careful you might just get laid tonight." Bruce chose to ignore Tony and turn to Pepper instead.

"Pepper, you look beautiful." Bruce said and Pepper smiled widely.

"Thank you Bruce. Tony's right, you do look handsome." Pepper replied.

"Where are the others?" Tony asked letting his eyes scan around the lobby for any more familiar faces.

"Well I stopped by Katie's place to let them know that the car was here and Barton opened the door and he didn't look dressed for a party." Bruce said with a shake of his head.

"Where's my kitten?" Tony asked missing Pepper roll her eyes. She still didn't like the nickname, but decided to keep it to herself.

"She wasn't there and I was going to ask him, but he didn't look too talkative."

"I'm sure everything's fine." Pepper says placing a hand on Tony's arm. "We're going to be late if we don't leave now." Tony looked over to her before looking to Bruce who simply shrugged. Tony suddenly thought back to the cryptic voice mail and the fact that he hadn't seen Katie all day. "Tony?"

"She has her phone, let me just call her." Tony said reaching into his breast pocket and pulling out his cell phone. Bruce looked over to Pepper whose expression showed everything she was feeling in that moment and none of it was good.

"Pepper-"

"Don't." Pepper says holding up a hand to stop whatever excuse Bruce was about to say. They both just turned to Tony who stood with his phone to his ear. He was silent for a moment, but then started talking. After only a moment he turned back to them. "So?"

"She's—"

"Here I am!" Katie said running inside completely drenching wet with bags in her hand. "Sorry I'm late, but I got caught in the rain and I forgot how hard it is to catch a taxi in this city." she looked around to see everyone looking very snazzy. "You guys look handsome." she looked over to Pepper. "And you look hot." Pepper laughed with a shake of her head.

"Why thank you Katie," Pepper replied before looking over to Tony. "Tony we have to leave now."

"Right" Tony says before turning to Katie. "Let me just meet you at the car." Pepper's eyes widened, a flash of anger crossing her face. "I promise one minute, I just need to talk to Katie here." Pepper simply shook her head before turning and storming out of the building.

"You're starting this off real smooth." Bruce said before leaving as well.

"Tony whatever it is, it can wait. Go before your future wife kills you and then me." Katie says before walking over to the elevator.

"I will but I have something for you." Tony says reaching into his pocket. Katie looked over to see him pull out a charm bracelet.

"Tony, what—" she looked up to his eyes to see if he was seriously giving her this. "What is this, I can't accept this."

"Yes you can and you promised," Tony replied and Katie didn't quite sure know what he was talking about. Tony simply held up a piece of the bracelet pressing a small button and that's when Katie saw a blinking red light. "It's your tracking device." he clasp the trinket around her wrist. "Now I will know where you are at all times."

"That's very disturbing to know." Katie said but looked back up to him and smiled. "But it's pretty, so thank you. Now go before Pepper comes in here and pulls you out of here by your neck." Tony just nodded before turning and running out the door. Katie looked back down to the bracelet and shook her head before turning and stepping onto the elevator.

She walked quickly down the hall until she reached her door. With her free hand, she typed in the unlock code before running inside.

"Bart, I'm sorry I'm late, just let me change and we can—" she stopped when she laid eyes on Clint who was wearing the same thing he was wearing earlier. "I don't think this party is a t-shirt and jeans kind of thing." she looked around the apartment to see a couple of empty bottle of beer littered around. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not going to the party," Clint said and Katie turned to him, dropping her bags to the floor.

"Ok, that's fine. We'll stay in." Katie said not missing the look in his eyes. "You want to watch a movie, grab some dinner?"

"Kat-"

"We could skip it all and head straight to the bedroom."

"Kat, will you just listen!" Clint snapped and it caused Katie to jump slightly. The room fell silent and they both stood there looking at one another. Katie took a step toward him, but was confused when he took a step back. And that’s when she saw it. The look on his face, she'd seen it before. It was guilt. "I've been thinking."

"That's always a bad thing." she murmured expecting at least a crack of a smile as she tried to break the tension in the room at the moment, but Clint's serious expression seemed to be permanently etched into his features. "You're freaking me out right now, so how about you just say it."

"I made a call today." Clint said and Katie inhaled deeply, wishing for nothing more than for him to just let it out. "I called Nat and told her to set me up with a post. I think it would be best for everyone if—"

"What the hell happened since I've been gone?" Katie interrupted. "The last time I saw you, we were good, the last time I saw you, you were smiling. What the hell—" And that's when she thought about the truly last time she saw him and the person he was with. "Matthew."

"Kat—"

"What did he say?"

"It doesn't matter, because it made me think. About me and about you and about why we've never been able to hold onto this long." Clint said dropping his head. For some reason he was unable to keep looking her in the eyes.

"Clint, what are you talking about? You said it yourself, this time it will be better because the obstacles are gone. SHIELD is gone. It's just you and me."

"Yeah, but for how long?" Clint asked and Katie quirked an eye brow in confusion. "You know as well as I do that Fury was dedicated to that agency and now that he has the chance he is going to rebuild and make it better."

"What does that have to do with us? If Fury wants to go build SHIELD 2.0 then that's his business, but it doesn't have to change anything with us." Katie said with a shake of her head. "Especially now, when nothing has happened. You're making decisions based on things that might possibly happen." he still kept his eyes turned away from her and it was angering her. "Look at me damnit!" she stormed over to him and placed her hands on either side of his face and brought his eyes to hers. "Do not throw this away because of fear." only more silent stares ensued and for a moment Katie thought that it didn't register. She was about to pull away when Clint's arms wrapped around her and pulled her into a kiss. so searing...so passionate, that neither wanted to part. And they wouldn't have, if the need for air wasn't so great. They pulled apart, their breaths mingling together and ragged.

"I'm sorry, I'm—"

"Don't." Katie said bringing her lips to Clint's once again. "I'm going to do both of us a favor and we are going to pretend this conversation never happened. Call Natasha, tell her that you went temporarily insane when you called her."

"I can't." Clint said and Katie frowned taking a step back. "She's coming here to New York and I think this is something I should do in person." Katie didn't quite understood, but simply nodded.

"You're coming back." it was a declaration, not a question.

"I'm coming back." he assured before pressing a kiss to her forehead before moving around her to grab his jacket. He gave her one last glance before flashing a smile and turning to leave. Katie stood there, releasing a deep breath she wasn't even aware she was holding. Her eyes fell to her bags on the floor and she remembered that there was still a party she had to make an appearance.

Tony stood in the middle of the grand hall staring out to a bunch people he barely knew, who were eating and drinking at his expense. He looked over to Pepper who was laughing at something someone had said, a crowd of people around her and Tony just knew that all of this was worth it. He glanced over to the door like he had been doing routinely throughout the night.

"You should stop doing that." Bruce muttered coming up beside him. "You're not being as covert as you think."

"She should've been here by now." Tony said grabbing a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. "Something's wrong."

"You don't know that." Bruce said looking around the crowd of people. "You know for a Stark party, this is actually tamer than I assumed it would be."

"Pepper made me promise no craziness and since I don't want to die, I complied." Tony replied before taking a brief sip from his glass before glancing over to the door as well.

"So what are we looking at?" a new voice spoke and both men turned to see Matthew, all dressed up in his suit, in his wheelchair.

"You mean Blair actually let you go?" Bruce asked with a shake of his head. "She's usually a little more strict with patients."

"Well you know I'm the master at getting what I want." Matthew replied cocky.

"Wait, is that Nurse Blair?" Tony asked looking across the room to see the woman. Bruce and Matthew turned their head to see the woman as well her eyes directly on Matthew.

"I don't see anyone." Matthew lied before looking back up to them. "So where's my sister and agent ass hole?" Both men look down to the young man. "Am I the only one calling him that?"

"I think so," Bruce replied with a shake of his head. "And they're not here yet."

"Didn't you say you saw Clint earlier and that he didn't seem talkative?" Tony asked and Bruce nodded. "Well what was wrong with him?"

"I don't know, he looked like someone kicked his dog." Bruce replied. "He kept his answers short and looked like he was moments away from slamming the door in my face." Matthew muttered something and they looked over to him. "What did you say?"

"Nothing, just that hopefully super agent dick knows when to take a hint." Matthew replied and this caught their attention.

"What are you talking about?" Tony asked when suddenly the music stopped and he heard a couple of gasps. He followed everyone's eyes to the top of the stairs the overlook the hall. There stood Katie in a simply powder blue dress that stopped just below her knees. It was simple, yet elegant. She scanned the crowd before quickly walking down the stairs over to where Tony, Bruce and Matthew were. Soon the music began again, but she could feel the eyes on her and hear the silent murmurs as she passed.

"I guess people still remember that I died." Katie said walking over to them. "Sorry I'm late, but mayhem ensued. Which reminds me." She walked over to Matthew and punched him hard in the shoulder.

"Ow!" he yelped, eyes going to him. "What the hell you do that for?"

"You know what that was for, and we will definitely be talking about it later." Katie said before turning to Tony and Bruce who were looking between the two trying to figure out what was happening. "Sorry, that just couldn't wait." she glanced around the crowd to still see a few eyes on her until she spotted Pepper who didn't look all to happy either. "Look, I know I just got here, but I think I should go."

"What are you talking about?" Tony asked grabbing another glass of champagne from a passing waiter and shoved it into her hand. "Stop talking crazy. Now that you're here maybe the fun can start. These two are too lame to party with."

"Hey, I'm handicapped." Matthew said slapping the wheels of his chair, defending himself. "Couple of more weeks, and I'll show you how to party Stark. Trust me."

"You're a dill hole." Katie said with a shake of her head before looking to Tony. "Tony, I'm getting way too much attention which is not something I should be doing at someone else's engagement party." she looked over to Pepper who seemed to be glancing her way ever so often. "This was definitely not a good idea." she looked back to Tony and quickly pulled him into a hug. "Congratulations Iron ass, and I wish you guys the best." she placed a kiss on his cheek before pulling away, but not getting far. She looked down to see his hands on her arms. "Tony, what are you doing. I should go."

"We need to talk first." Tony said before grabbing her hand and pulling her with him. Katie looked around to see the eyes on them as they sped through the crowd. They ended up outside on a terrace where Tony closed the doors before turning to him.

"What hell are you doing?"

"Ok, so we're friends right?" Tony asked and Katie tilted her head in confusion. "That's a dumb question, of course we're friends. Like best friends. We get each other in ways no one else does."

"Are you drunk?"

"No, not yet, but I wish I was." he said before letting out a long sigh."This would be easier."

"What would be easier?"

"Well I wanted to ask you something. Something that you don't have to say yes to, but it would mean a lot if you did." Tony said and Katie waited for him to continue. Suddenly Tony remembered that moment they were in the lab and he told her about the wedding and how something changed. And so he found that he would ask a different question. "What do you think about this whole wedding business?" she looked confused and simply shrugged.

"I think it's great. You guys love each other and it makes sense." she said and he looked at her knowing that there was something else. "What, that's the truth?" he continued staring and she knew that the man in front of her was one of the few who saw past the facade she put up. Katie let out a sigh before turning away. "Fine, it scares me."

"What?"

"You're getting married to a woman who isn't very fond of me." Katie said turning back to her friend "I know how selfish this sounds, and I know given everything that's happened I'm not one to talk, but trust me, you're about to embark on this whole new life and I just don't see how I'm going to fit into it." she shook her head. "You may be an ass but I've come quite accustomed to our friendship and I guess I don't want to lose it."

"Have you been drinking?" Tony asked and Katie smiled. "You're my kitten for as long as we're alive and nothing will change that." he shook his head and Katie noticed what looked like relief wash over his face. It would seem that was an answer he didn't expect.

"Wait, what did you think I was going to say?" Tony looked over to her and simply shook his head. "What?"

"Nothing, I—" Tony stammered before a buzzing sound saved him from having to lie. Katie reached into her bag and pulled out her phone to see she had a text. It was the same message that she'd received from the kid earlier with the time and address. She wanted to ignore it, but it would seem that they didn't plan on letting her do that. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Katie replied tossing her phone back into her bag and looking back up to him with a smile. "It's—it's Bart, he was just wondering where I was, so I should get going." she looked into the hall at the large clock on the wall that showed that the meeting time was soon approaching. "I really have to go."

"Well there's something else I wanted to ask you." Tony said and Katie turned back to him.

"Can it wait?" she asked and he actually looked offended. She figured Tony was a person who was used to getting the attention he wanted. "I'm sorry, but I promised Clint I would come straight back. We can talk tomorrow." she quickly pecked a kiss on his cheek before rushing out without giving him a chance to protest. Tony looked both confused and slightly suspicious as he walked back out to the party.

"Where's she off to in such a hurry?" Matthew asked rolling over to him.

"Back to the tower." Tony replied with a slight shake of his head. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

"Tony, there you are." Pepper said coming over and grabbing his arm. "My cousins just got here and I want you to meet them."

"Lead the way mistress." Tony said letting her pull him. He was probably being paranoid and so he decided to just let his suspicions go.

Katie sat in the back of a taxi, her fingers twitching nervously in her lap. Her head was screaming that this was stupid, that going off to meet people who could potentially try to hurt her could end badly. But she couldn't stop hearing her father's voice in the back of her head telling her that running from the truth doesn't make it go away. Whoever these people were, they were persistent and hopefully she could nip this in the bud before the people she cared about got involved. The taxi stopped out side of a very shady looking laundromat, a blinking open sign in the window. She dug in her purse and handed the driver a couple of bills before stepping out. She stood across the street and stared at the building before taking out her cell phone and pressing a familiar number.

"JARVIS, I need you to do something for me."

" _Yes?"_

"If I don't call you in the next hour, I want you to contact Tony and tell him that I am in danger."

" _As you wish. Would it be more beneficial for me to contact Mr. Stark now?"_

"No, right now I want to at least try to end this on my own. If I don't call, call him right away."

" _Yes Katie."_

Katie hung up the phone and dropped into her purse before stepping onto the sidewalk, and as if to mirror her anxiety, suddenly lightening flashed above her. She looked up to the sky.

"Well if you know something I don't, now would be the time to say it buddy." Katie said standing there for a moment before continuing. She stepped inside to find the place practically empty. A pungent smell passed her nostrils, causing her to pinch her nose for relief. There was a woman sitting in the corner reading a magazine, while another older man sat asleep. At this point Katie didn't know what to do, and so she waited. After only a few moments, a door opened and out walked a tall man dressed in a gray suit who didn't look like someone who would hang around some hole in the wall laundromat. He moved aside and Katie took that as her hint to go through the door. This was definitely stupid and so Katie did what she didn't think she would. She turned about to run. The moment she turned to the door she came face to face with another large man who was also wearing a suit. "This place must get out really tough stains." she looked between both men as they seemed to move in closer. She dropped her purse to the floor and clenched her fists, ready for whatever fight was about to take place.

"Stop!" a heavily German accented voice yelled and everything stopped. Katie looked around the large man to see a shorter man, this one younger with blonde hair that seemed to be combed back without a strand out of place. "There is no need for violence." the larger men seemed to back away as the younger man walked toward Katie. He bent down and picked up her purse and handed it to her. "May I say you look very beautiful this evening, Ms. Chambers." that was the first thing that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand. Not a lot of people knew her real name and the fact that here was a stranger saying it as if they were friends made her uneasy. "There's nothing to fear here."

"I'm not scared." Katie said making sure to stand straight and look the man in the eyes. It was another one of her father's lessons. Never let intimidation get the best of her. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"Straight to the point, just like your father." the man said lightly chuckling. Katie felt her insides tighten at the mention of her father, letting her know that this meeting had even more implications. "I didn't know him well, but the times I did see him I always thought he was a strong man. Someone who knew how to put fear in people." this wasn't something Katie wanted to hear.

"Again I ask you, who are you and what the hell do you want from me?"

"Your father took something that didn't belong to him and I want to know where it is." the man said and Katie looked at him ask if waiting for him to explain further. "And I think you know where it is."

"You do, do you? Well I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but my father rarely shared secrets." Katie replied. "I mean I lived with the guy for the first half of my life and I barely knew who he was."

"I think you're lying and I do not like liars." The man said with a shake of his head. The sadistic smile fell from his lips and replaced with a glare Katie was sure would've made a weaker man cave. "Please don't lie to me."

"What is it that you're looking for?"

"Well it's actually not a what, but a who?" the young man reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a wrinkled old picture. He held it up to Katie. The woman was very young with dark curly hair that she had pinned up on top of her head. Katie leaned in a bit closer to the picture to notice how eerily familiar the woman looked. "You have her eyes, you know?" she lifted her head to the man, the confusion probably written all over her face at this point.

"Who is she?"

"You don't recognize your own mother?" he asked and Katie's eyes widened. "What, you're going to tell me some lie about your mother being dead, about her dying during child birth." he took a step toward her. "I know your mother is alive, and I know your father knew and I don't think he would've died without telling you." he grabbed her face in his hand before reaching into his holster and pulling out a nine millimeter and pressing it to Katie's temple. "You talk or you die. Your choice."

There was a roar of thunder from outside that seemed to shake the entire building and the lights above flickered.

"I think there's a third option you didn't plan for." Katie ground out through clenched teeth.


	15. Chapter 15

Katie never really believed there was a such thing at information overload. She was one who tried to get as much information jammed to her head as possible. So as she stood there, the cold metal of the barrel of a gun resting on the side of her head, she realized in the past five minutes she'd learned more information than she thinks she can process. The words her mother was alive seemed to be on repeat in her head. If there was any instance of someone's head exploding, she had never heard of it, but she was pretty sure that was all about to change soon if she weren't removed from this situation. The lights above them flickered once again and everyone, her and evil German guys alike looked up a sudden chill passing through their bodies.

"Meister?" one of the henchmen spoke, looking to his boss. There was another sudden crash of thunder and the lights stopped flickering and turned off all together. There was a shriek from the corner and they all assumed it was the woman who'd been silently sitting in the corner the entire time. They heard the scuffling of feet before spotting just as the woman ran out in fear into the rain.

"You should probably do the same." Katie said. She felt her heart pounding in her chest and each breath seeming to be a chore.

"Why, you scared of a little thunder?"

"No, but you should be." Katie replied and as if on cue glass shattered and the man behind her yelped and they turned in the darkness to make out him flying across the room.

"Was that a hammer?" the other henchmen asked as the hammer that had just slammed the man in the chest, hovered above the ground and flew back through the window. They all moved to see, standing right there in the middle of the street was Thor as he caught his hammer. He began walking toward the laundromat.

The young blonde dropped his gun to his side and grabbed a fist full of Katie's dress before pulling her flesh against his chest.

"Das ist noch nicht vorbei, süßes kind." he hissed in her ear before pressing a sloppy kiss to her cheek and pushing her to the floor right on top of broken glass. Katie shrieked in pain as she felt the shards of glass scraping her legs. She lifted her head at the sound of a door slamming and looked up to find herself alone. But not for very long. Heavy footsteps came closer and Katie turned to see the large god standing above her, water dripping from his long blonde locks.

"We have to—" she sputtered before placing a hand on her chest. Her labored breathing seemed to be getting worse and worse with every passing second. "Fi—find them before-before they get aw—"

"It is alright, I will get you out of here." Thor said before scooping Katie into his arm.

"No, we—we have to—" she stopped because she could no longer feel the air on her lungs. Her body fell back in Thor's arms as he stepped outside. She could feel the rain drops crashing on her body, but for some reason it didn't matter. Nothing mattered at that moment. "Mom." was the last word she spoke before she let the darkness overtake her.

In the city of New York, it was only fact that each day it held an array of unique individuals at a given time. Two of those unique individuals just happened to be meeting in the middle of Central Park at the moment.

Clint stood with his hands in the pockets of his jacket, his hood pulled over his head, and his eyes down to block the rain. He soon heard the stern and purposeful footsteps of his comrade and smiled before turning to see her walking toward him, an umbrella held above her head.

"I think you should know that I'm fully prepared to kick your ass right now," she said bypassing a greeting. At this point in their relationship, it just wasn't even necessary anymore. "Again."

"Good to see you too Nat." Clint said with a slight smile.

"Oh, bite me." she quipped. "What the fuck are you doing? After everything you've done to get to this moment, with that insufferable woman, you call—"

"Nat stop!" Clint interrupted. "You're right. Which is why I came here to tell you that I wasn't coming back with you." she stood there for a moment before a look of realization washed over her face.

"You didn't need a face to face for that." Natasha said. Clint simply nodded. "This is going to be the last time I see you, isn't it?"

"I wouldn't say that." Clint spoke taking a few steps to close the distance between them. "Never in a million years would I say that Nat." He let out a deep breath. "What I would say is that life here is a little too crazy and the people are a little too close. For this to work I think we have to go."

"Has she agreed to this?" Natasha asked and Clint dropped his head. "Have you talked to her about this?"

"She knows I want to leave New York." Clint said bringing his eyes back to his friend. "She agreed. So at this point it's all a matter of when."

"Or if—"

"No, I don't think it is." Clint said with a shake of his head. "I think she feels it too. The need to get away from this bullshit." Natasha stood there, not sure what to say next. "This isn't goodbye, it's just see you later. Would you hit me if I hugged you, right now?"

"Yes." she answered honestly and Clint simply chuckled.

"Well I don't care." he replied before bringing his arms around her in a hug. And in true Natasha fashion, she smacked him right in the back of the head.

"I still owe you." she said and he pulled from the hug to see the seriousness in her face. "That doesn't change, and I plan to wipe that red out of my ledger." Clint simply nodded before a buzzing sound interrupted the moment. Natasha reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone before bringing it to her ear. "Yeah," she frowned slightly as she looked up to Clint. "When?" there was another beat of silence. "I'll take care of it." she ended the call and slipped the phone back into her pocket.

"What's wrong?"

"There's been a Thor sighting." Natasha replied.

"That's not hard to believe. He and Dr. Foster—"

"No, he's in New York, and he was spotted just a few minutes ago." Natasha said with a shake of her head. "Dr. Foster is still in England."

"Then what is he doing here?" Clint asked and Natasha simply shrugged before turning and stalking off. Not sure what else to do, Clint followed after her. Natasha gave him a sideways glance. "I'm not gone yet, and right now I'm curious."

Tony stood at the bar in the hall waiting for the bartender to bring his drink. He'd been putting on a faux look of bliss and happiness the entire night. Even though he truly was happy with his impending nuptials, a part of him was upset that he wasn't able to share it with his friend. There had been a year and a half of not seeing Katie, or not talking to her and right now they were in the same city and it was as if nothing had truly changed.

Tony was snapped out of his thoughts by someone rolling over his foot. Well he shouldn't say someone. There was only one wheelchair bound guest at his party tonight and he was proud to call him friend.

"You'd think you would've mastered this thing already." Tony says looking down to the man. Tony reached down and ran a hand across one of the wheels. "You know I could supe this up for you." he smiled as ideas began running through his head. "Yeah, I can see it now—"

"Well stop seeing it." Matthew interrupted. "So Katie didn't say anything else before she left?"

"No, just that she was headed back to the tower to meet Barton." Tony said before turning to see the bartender with his drink.

"I called and she didn't answer." Matthew replied.

"Well maybe she's busy or getting—" Tony stopped realizing the rest of this sentence wasn't as funny anymore. "Never mind."

"Yeah, but when I call, she answers." Matthew said and Tony looked down the young man.

"What like since she's been back?"

"No, like any time I call." Matthew countered. "I think something's wrong, you think you could set me up with a ride back to the tower?" Tony opened his mouth to speak when he felt his breast pocket vibrating.

"One sec," Tony said snagging his phone from his pocket. "It's JARVIS." he brought the phone to his ear. "JARVIS, what's up?"

"Sorry to disturb you sir, but I was instructed to call you at this exact time given the event that Katie does not contact me." JARVIS said and Tony looked over to Matthew with a look of confusion.

"Why was she going to call you?"

"She didn't say why, but in the event that she didn't. I was to contact you and tell you that she may be in danger."

"Fuck!" Tony growled. "JARVIS, I want you to locate Katie's tracking device and send the location to my phone."

"Right away sir." JARVIS said.

"What's wrong?" Matthew asked once Tony brought the phone from his ear.

"I think you're right." Tony said before searching the crowd for Pepper. She wasn't going to be happy about his premature departure, but right now there were more important things to tend to. Like whatever debacle his kitten had gotten herself into.

Clint and Natasha ran through the rain, only stopping when they found a crowd of people standing in the middle of Time Square staring up into the sky. They looked up as well just in time to see Thor fly through the sky.

"I think he's headed toward the tower!" Clint called. Natasha simply nodded before they were off running again.

Thor's feet slammed against the concrete with a ground shaking thud in front of the tower. He looked down to Katie who seemed to be flickering between consciousness and unconsciousness. The next moments happened so fast that no one present could possibly recount it. Thor burst through the front doors of the tower startling the guards and a couple of late night employees who just happened to be around.

"Some one will help her now!" Thor's voice boomed, reverberating off the walls and causing a chill to creep down everyone's back. Everyone stood frozen in fear, well everyone but a guard who recognized the seriousness in the god’s face and knew no one would like it if he asked twice. The guard picked up the phone and called up to the medical unit for assistance.

_“If someone would only stop that damn beeping.”_

That was the first coherent though that passed through Katie's head as she began to come to. She heard the sound of muffled voices, and attempted to open her eyes, but the light in the room was too bright for her comfort, so instead she chose to keep them closed.

"Will you two calm down!" Bruce loudly whispered glancing over to Katie who stirred in the bed. He looked between Tony and Clint who both were angry beyond words at the moment. "Look when she wakes up we can get the full story, but until then there's no use to pointing the finger at anyone." Tony and Clint both glared daggers at one another before turning back to Katie.

"So what, it was just a panic attack?" Tony asked glancing over to Bruce.

"Seems like it. From what Thor told me, when he found her, she seemed to be going into shock. It didn't take too long for her just pass out."

"The cuts on her legs?" Clint asked trying his best to cap the swirling emotions that were happening inside of him.

"She was pushed onto glass." Bruce said walking over to see Katie's bandaged legs. "They're minor, probably won't scar too badly."

"What I want to know is who were they and where do I find them?" Tony asked looking around to the faces for answers. He turned to Clint. "You can't tell me you knew nothing about this!" In a swift movement, Clint moved to stand in front of Tony's face bringing the men mere inches apart. He'd been dying to take a swing at the man and at the moment there was a tingling in his fingers that was daring the man to just say one more word.

"That's enough!" Bruce came between them and pushing them apart. "Right now only one person knows the answers to your questions and right now she's not awake. So how about we all calm down."

"I'm not sure how long that's going to last." A new voice spoke and they all turned to see Natasha leaning on the door frame. "Not when you hear what our extraterrestrial friend has to say." a nurse squeezed past Natasha into the room.

"Mr. Stark, Ms. Potts is requesting to see you." the nurse informed and Tony let out a frustrated growled. He hadn't really given her an explanation before ditching their party and was sure she had questions of her own.

"Tell her that I can't—"

"Tony, no." Bruce interrupted and Tony simply glared over to him. "Right now all we're doing is waiting. If she wakes up, I'll call but right now go let your fiancé know what's going on." Tony glanced over to Katie before turning and stalking out of the room. Bruce looked back to Natasha who seemed to be staring over to Katie as well, a heavy frown on her face. "You look upset?" Natasha glanced over to the doctor bringing her features back to their natural neutral state. "It's not an unexpected reaction, but from you it's...interesting." Natasha simply rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, look Thor has a hell of a story to tell once everything gets situated here, so plan for a team meeting." Natasha replied before turning and heading out the room.

"That sounds fun." Bruce muttered glancing over to Clint's whose eyes were glued to Katie. "She's going to be fine, you know?"

"I had no idea." Clint said with a slight shake of his head. "I've practically been attached to her at the hip and the moment something happens with her, I didn't even know it."

"Clint, no one knew. I think she wanted it that way." Bruce replied looking to Katie as well. "If Pepper's here, then Matt can't be far behind. I should go fill him in."

Once Bruce was gone, Clint let out a long sigh as he ran a hand across his face. That was the moment something caught his eyes. Her leg. It moved, but only slightly. He looked up to her face, her eyes still closed.

"You're awake, aren't you?" Clint asked walking to her side and pulling up a seat in the chair beside her bed. He grabbed her hand, hoping the contact would help her to wake up fully, but her eyes were still closed. "I know you're awake, because you're not snoring."

"Will you stop saying that. I do not snore." her voice replied dry and rough as her eyes lifted open. But barely as she tried to adjust to the light. She saw the worry in his eyes and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm fine."

"Yeah, you look it." Clint replied before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Do you have any idea how freaked out I was when I got that call?"

"Actually I do." Katie replied remembering the call from a hospital telling her that Clint had been in an accident and it turned out it was because he went after one of Killian's goons.

"Then you know how scary it is." Clint said and Katie simply sighed.

"I wanted to end it. We just got out of a crap storm and I didn't want to bring you or anyone else into another one." Katie said turning her head to look up to the ceiling. "Guess that plan has gone straight to hell."

"You're damn straight." Clint countered and Katie brought her eyes back to his. "There are no solo missions anymore. We will deal with this together, now tell me what the hell is going on."

The doors slid open to Tony's penthouse and the first thing he saw was Pepper standing there, still in her evening gown, her arms folded over her chest looking not even a ounce of happy.

"Pepper—"

"What the hell is going on Tony?!" Pepper snapped before stalking over to meet him. "First you barely even try to enjoy the party and then you get a call and you leave me there."

"Pepper, I'm sorry, but—"

"Is someone dead?"

"No, but—"

"Was someone close to being dead?"

"No, not really, but—"

"Did you in anyway help the situation?"

"Single handedly, no, but—"

"Is this about Katie?"

And with that question Tony stopped trying to talk. It would seem Pepper had already believed she understood the situation and didn't really need him to answer the questions she was asking.

"I think we should have a talk?" Pepper asked her voice calmer than before.

"Do we, because you seem to be doing a bang up job of talking by yourself without my input." Tony said gaining a very pointed glare from his fiance. "What do you want me to say? Yes, tonight Katie found herself in a very dangerous situation. To what extent, I didn't know, hell I still don't know, but as her friend—"

"Her friend," Pepper interrupted again.

"For the love of—" Tony snapped throwing his hands up in frustration. "Will you let me finish. I'm trying to tell you that whatever theory you have swirling around in your head right now is just pure paranoia."

"Paranoia, really?" Pepper asked. "So when my fiancé is at a party for our engagement and the only time his eyes light up is when another woman finally arrives. Or on the drop of a hat, when you get word that she's possibly in trouble, you ditch me to go find out. And you call that paranoia?"

"No, actually you're right, it's not paranoia." Tony countered. "It's confusion. You think you understand what's happening, you think you know why things are happening, but you don't Pepper. I explicitly remember explaining it to you, why—" Tony shook his head. It was the conversation between he and Pepper after Katie's fake death where he explained why he cared for her the way he did. And after that conversation, he thought she understood, but apparently she didn't. "Pepper, what do you want?" Pepper stood there for a moment silently before finally speaking.

"I don't want her hand on our life to be as strong as it is." Pepper replied. Tony opened his mouth to argue, but she rose a hand to stop him. "You don't see it, because you're too close to her. But ever since she's come into our lives, it's been you, me, and your kitten. I don't want to share you, can you understand that?" Tony dropped his head, realizing that maybe he may not have been completely fair to Pepper. "I don't doubt you love me and I don't think your feelings for her are romantic, but I don't think they're friendly either." Tony lifted his eyes to her. "I can't explain it, and yes I don't understand it and because of that, it scares me."

"Well don't." Tony said walking over and bringing his arms around Pepper in an embrace. "Don't."

Bruce stood watching as Nurse Blair tried restitching one of Matthew's sutures that was pulled in the man's attempt to get to his sister.

"I told you I'm fine!" Matthew snapped before looking up to Bruce. "What the hell happened to my sister?"

"We won't know until she wakes up?"

"Or until I wake her ass up." Matthew grumbled looking down to Blair as she bandaged the last wound. The moment she did, Matthew stood to his feet.

"Mr. Banks!" Blair called as the man stalked out of the room. Bruce just held up a hand to her, letting her know that he would look after him.

"You should calm down, Matt." Bruce said coming in stride with the man. "I get you're upset—"

"I thought the phase in our lives where people were trying to kill my sister was over." Matthew replied. "I want answers and I need to know how serious this is."

"And then what?" Bruce asked and Matthew gave the man a sideways glance. "What are you going to do?"

"What, you think because I'm not some mutated rage monster, billionaire, assassin, archer or god, that I can't do something?"

"That's not what I said, it's just at the moment—"

"You underestimate me doc." Matthew interrupted. "All of you do and I don't blame you, but I think you should know that I'm not nearly as incompetent as you think I am."

"No one thinks—" Bruce wasn't able to finish his sentence before Matthew was bursting through Katie's door. He followed inside of the room to see Katie's eyes open.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Matthew snapped standing in front of her bed.

"Matt, how about you calm down." Clint said standing to his feet. "I know-"

"You don't know anything Agent ass face!" Matthew said not taking his eyes from his sister. "I want to know what you were thinking when you decided to go to some unknown location to meet with people who could've killed you. Oh and on top of that, by yourself!"

"Mattie-"

"Don't Mattie me!" Matthew snapped. "You always do this, you make these choices you think is best for everyone. If something happened to you today, what do you think that would've done to me? Hell to all of us Rinny! You're not a child anymore, so before you act you're gonna have to start thinking beforehand, because for someone as smart as you, this was dumb as shit!"

"Ok, that's enough." Bruce said coming to pull Matthew from the room.

"No," Katie said trying to sit up from the bed. "He's right. What I did tonight was stupid and it wasn't thought out." she looked over their eyes. "I'm sorry for making you worry about me, because that was the exact opposite of what I wanted to happen tonight."

"What exactly did happen tonight?" Bruce asked and Katie let out a sigh.

"Maybe we should wait until the morning." Clint spoke seeing how uneasy Katie looked. "She's gone through a lot tonight, we should at least give her a little time." Bruce nodded before grabbing Matthew's arm.

"I'm sorry Mattie." Katie said only for Matthew to shake his head and turn and leave with Bruce.

"He'll be alright, he was just scared." Clint said grabbing her hand. "We all were Kat. And now—"

"Now there are people who want answers to questions I didn't even knew existed." Katie said turning to Clint. "Bart, if my mother really is alive, then everything I thought I knew-" she shook her head. "I can't take anymore life changing information."

"We will just take this one step at a time and whatever comes at us, we'll handle it." Clint replied taking her hand in his once again.

"I don't think I want to spend the night in this room." Katie said and Clint nodded.

"Right, I'll see if it's ok for me to take you back to the apartment."

Later that night, Katie found herself lying in bed once again staring up to the ceiling. She should be resting, trying her best to just put the events of the day behind her, at least for the moment, but it seemed impossible. Clint had gone, just downstairs to meet with the others, to talk about her most likely.

"This is ridiculous!" Katie groaned sitting up from her bed. She gently turned her body, trying her best not to hurt her scarred legs. She stood to her feet and walked glumly down the hall to the office. She took a seat in the wheeled chair behind her desk. "Monitors on!" she called and each of the many screens turned on. At the moment they were only playing various news outlets. Most were still reporting on the whole SHIELD/HYDRA exposure. Katie reached into the bottom drawer of the desk and pulled out the tiny flash that she told herself she would just forget. She twirled it in her fingers.

"JARVIS, how is that data mining coming along?" Katie asked.

"The search is still in progress." JARVIS informed. "It seems to be a large data set and the search is taking longer than anticipated."

"Well do whatever you have to do to speed it along. This is really important."

In building the tower, Tony made sure, that given it's name of "The Avenger's Tower" it would have a place for the Avengers to assemble. It was a large conference room with a table in the center surrounded by a wall of monitors. At the moment, the team chose to stand as they waited for Tony.

"Why are we waiting for him?" Clint asked wanting nothing more than to go back upstairs to be with Katie. He wasn't too sure about leaving her alone.

"Because it's my tower!" Tony called walking into the room. "And my tower, my rules. Now should we sit?" Everyone just gave him a look no one moving an inch. "Fine, then we stand." he looked over to Thor. "Hey, big guy. Good to see you again. Why am I seeing you again?"

"If this is about Katie, shouldn't she be here right now?" Clint asked looking between their faces. "It just seems kind of wrong to be having this meeting if it's about her and she's not even here."

"Clint's right, we shouldn't do this now." Bruce added with a sigh. "It's been a long night and right now we should probably just hit the pause button."

"Really, there are people out there trying to kill her and—"

"Tony, we don't know what happened, so chill." Bruce interrupted before turning to Thor. "Does what you have to say need to be said now or can it wait?" Thor looked hesitant but simply nodded.

"It can wait, but not for long. We need to have this discussion soon" Thor said. The others nodded before turning and leaving.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Tony said stopping and turning back to Thor. "Did you want to stay here or—"

"I must return to my Lady Jane, but I shall come back tomorrow." Thor replied and Tony simply nodded before leaving as well.

Katie sat in silence as she fiddled with the flash drive in her hands. A sudden bell rang and Katie lifted her head.

"JARVIS, what is that?"

"The doorbell." JARVIS replied and Katie simply nodded before standing to her feet. She assumed it was Clint and he'd just forgotten the pin, but the moment she opened the door she found that her assumption was wrong.

"Pepper?" Katie asked definitely not expecting to see that she had changed out of her gown and now wore a simple sweater with a pair of jeans. "Is something wrong?"

"Depends on who you ask." Pepper replied. "May I come in?" Katie nodded before stepping aside and letting her enter. "I'm sorry to just barge in on you like this, especially after everything that's happened tonight."

"It's fine." Katie said closing the door and turning to face the woman. "Tell you the truth I could use the distraction. So what's this is about?"

"I don't know how to even begin this conversation," Pepper said folding her arms over her chest before bringing her eyes to Katie. "And I know right now given what you've been through tonight, me coming over here and—"

"Pepper, really it's fine." Katie interrupted. "You need to say something to me, so say it."

"I—" Pepper had been going over this conversation in her head over and over again and now that she was right here, staring at Katie, the words seemed to be losing her. "I thought I understood the relationship between you and Tony, but everyday I realize I don't and when it comes to the man I'm about to give my life to, that can't happen." Katie saw the tears welling up in the woman's eyes and just knew this wasn't an easy conversation for her. "And I know I'm probably being silly and paranoid and a bunch of other things, but I love Tony and what you two have scares me because I've never seen it before. Not with him." Pepper dropped her head and wiped a couple of stray tears from her cheek. "As the woman who’s going to be his wife, I feel that I should have his whole heart and with you—" Pepper looked back up to Katie. "That will never happen. And so I need—"

"I'm going to leave." Katie interrupted and Pepper didn't say anything. "What you're feeling is valid and it's normal, but I think you should know that I've spent the majority of my life feeling alone and I'm pretty sure Tony has felt the same. And then one day I hacked a program and he broke into my life and we weren't alone anymore. When you realize you're not alone, things happen. You change. You ask the woman whose been standing right under your nose to marry you or you finally give the guy you've been in love with since the day you met him a chance to actually make you happy. You don't understand it Pepper because you haven't felt it and that's not your fault, it's not anybody's fault, but if this is the way you see your happily ever after, then I'm not going to stand it the way. So I'm going to leave, tomorrow most likely, and then I hope that you finally get what you want." Pepper stood there dumbfounded. There were no words she could even say at the moment and so she simply nodded and moved past the woman out of the door. "JARVIS, not to pressure you or nothing, but I need you to work a shit load faster buddy."

"I'm doing my best." JARVIS replied.

"I know," Katie sighed suddenly feeling dampness on her own cheek. She reached up and felt the tears she didn't even know were falling.

"Hey," Clint said walking through the door. "I just saw Pepper, she looked—" Katie turned to him and he saw her watered eyes and quickly walked over to her bringing his arms to her waist. "What's wrong, what happened?" Katie closed her eyes and just shook her head before reaching up and wiping the tears from her eyes.

"We're leaving tomorrow."

"Kat-"

"I don't want to talk about it" Katie pulled from his grasp and walked away.

The next morning Katie found herself sitting alone at the head of a large conference table in the tower's conference room. Clint had told her that the others wanted answers and she decided that they deserved them. And so she was the first one there. Natasha was the next to arrive. The woman took a seat to the left of Katie,glancing over to her.

"Was there something you wanted to say that I haven't heard already?" Katie asked turning to the woman. Natasha simply pulled out her cell phone and pulled up an image before sliding it over to Katie. Katie looked down to see the distorted image of the young German man from the night before. Her eyes widened as she looked back to Natasha. "Who-"

"We don't know, he's not in any database we have access to." Natasha said taking the phone back. "That was taken from a nearby security camera as him and his friends made their speedy getaway."

"He mentioned my mother." Katie said looking down to her hands. Natasha turned away for a moment.

"The director wanted me to pass along a message." Natasha said and Katie lifted her head to her. "He said he gave you a weapon you could use in this situation and that maybe it was time you used it." Katie simply nodded.

"I'm going to need a plane at the ready today." Katie said. Natasha simply nodded before the others began to filter in.

Soon they were all sitting around the table listening to Katie recount the story of the message received from Bucky, to a boy who slipped her a note in a second hand store and then the text she'd received at the party before she ended up at the laundromat.

"I don't get it." Bruce said after Katie had finished. "What do they want?"

"My mother." Katie spoke and everyone was silent for a moment.

"I thought your mother was dead." Tony said and Katie met his eyes and simply shrugged.

"So did I." Katie replied before turning to look out one of the large windows that over look New York. "Look I don't know what the truth is here." she turned back to them. "What I do know is that this isn't a national security problem, and this isn't people from a different planet threatening me. This isn't a problem that needs to be solved by the Avengers and so I'm going to handle this one." she waited for an argument and all eyes went to the one person they thought for sure would give one. Tony cleared his throat before folding his hands underneath his chin.

"If that's what you want." he said surprising everyone. Katie nodded before looking to Thor.

"Alright, now on to the next business. Tell me there isn't going to be another alien invasion?" Katie asked and Thor shook his head, but his face was pure seriousness.

"I received a message from Asgard yesterday. A strange seer was passing through the land and told Lady Sif to pass along a message to me." Thor recalled before turning to Katie. "I was to be told that soon the heart would stop beating." They all sat there waiting for more, waiting for an explanation but it would seem that was the end of Thor's story.

"That's it?" Katie asked and Thor nodded.

"You must understand that the woman's words hold more meaning than she had spoken." Thor said looking to their faces before looking back to Katie. "Your heart is special Lady Katherine and though you may not see it, we all do. It's your heart that has saved many, if not all of us here today. And for a seer from another realm to predict such a feat creates implications that I think we should at least discuss."

"There is nothing to discuss." Katie said with a shake of her head. "Your seer didn't mention me by name, so the truth is that her prediction could mean anything. The truth is one day I am going to die and so is everyone at this table. Whether it's soon or a long time from now, no one knows." Katie stood to her feet. "Clint and I are leaving today. There's something we need to do and then when we're done, we're going to just take a break from it all, just the two of us." Tony stood to his feet and stalked out of the conference room.

"Lady Katherine, I think it would be wise—" Katie simply placed a hand on to of Thor's.

"Thor I've lived the majority of my life looking over my shoulder for death and I don't want to do it any longer." she looked to the faces of her friends. "After everything that I have been through, I deserve to have the life that I want, and this is what I want." She looked over to Clint and gave him a nod before he stood to his feet as well. "I have my phone and it's the same number so call me if you need me, or if you're just dying to hear my voice." they simply nodded before watching Katie and Clint leave the room as well.

Bruce, Natasha and Thor sat around the table letting the events of what just happen process.

"Thor," Bruce spoke and the Asgardian turned to him. "This seer and her prophecy of someone from a different realm dying, does that happen often?"

"No, our land is filled with people who have these abilities, but for a prediction to be of someone from a different realm is rare. It usually means that their death will have an affect far greater than expected. This could mean that Katherine's death could some how affect Asgard, I'm just not sure how."

"What does your father have to say?" Natasha asked and Thor shook his head.

"My father has been recluse since my mother's death. Not many see him anymore, not even I." Thor replied solemnly. "At this point I'm not sure how to proceed if Katherine herself does not wish to persist this further."

"Well don't you have a guy up there who sees all, so to speak?" Natasha asked and Thor simply nodded.

"You mean Heimdall, and I have already directed him to keep a watchful eye on her. That's how I came to finding her last night." Thor replied.

"Well at this point, that's all we can do." Natasha said standing to her feet. "The people from last night are being checked into and if we find out anything that's pertinent, it'll be passed along."

"But until then we just do nothing?" Bruce asked and Natasha simply nodded. "That sound very productive."

"Focus on your work doctor, because right now we have no clear threat and some would call that a good thing." Natasha said. "Until we have focus and direction, then there will be something for you to do." And with that Natasha left.

Before Katie left she knew that she'd have to stop by her brother's medical room, even though she knew he'd still be upset with her. After she told him of her plans to leave he folded his arms over his chest and turned his eyes from her refusing to say a word.

"Mattie, say something." Katie pleaded but he didn't say anything. "I wish you could understand why I have to do this, I really do." she walked around his bed and placed a kiss on top of his head. "I love you little brother and whenever you need me I will be there." still nothing and so she sighed before turning and walking for the door.

"I need you now." Matthew said and Katie stopped and turned to him. "Right now, I need you so just stay."

"No you don't." Katie said with a shake of her head. " You're going to be fine. Tony will look out for you and—"

"Tony's not my family, you are!" Matthew snapped and Katie turned away from him. "Stop running Kat. I've spent my whole life without a sister because you won't stop running."

"I'm not running Mattie." Katie said walking around and taking a seat on the edge of his bed. "And you've never been without me. You'd actually be freaked out about the tabs I've been keeping on you." she placed a hand on top of his. "Don't be mad or sad because I'm leaving because this isn't goodbye. I will see you again, probably at this wedding I'm sure I will be coerced into attending." Matthew met his sister's eyes and sighed. "You're my Mattie and I'm your Rinny and no matter where I am, that will never change."

"If I call you with a crisis, I expect expediency." Matthew said and Katie smiled.

"And you will get it, if it truly is a crisis and not you drunk on your ass at a gay bar." Katie said gaining a glare from her brother as she laughed.

"I could've sworn we put that in the box of the 'never to be mentioned out loud' just like your week at band camp and that nickname." he began laughing as well. "What was it, Ms. Pee-Bottom?" Katie swat his shoulder and stood to her feet and Matthew only laughed even more.

"You know what I'm glad I'm leaving, because us in a room together for more than ten minutes will surely lead to you getting your ass kicked." Katie said before placing a kiss on top of his head. "Get better, listen to Blair and talk to someone."

"I don't need—"

"Yes you do." Katie replied. "I know you better than anyone and I know there's a lot of stuff going on in that head of yours and talking about it will help."

"That's rich coming from you." Matthew said. "You're a walking time bomb of issues ready to blow the moment someone says the wrong thing. How about this, I talk to someone if you talk to someone, deal?" Katie looked at him for a moment and realized that getting her brother help was far more important than locking in her own crazy.

"Fine, deal." Katie said.

"Secret handshake?" Matthew asked holding out his fist. Katie simply shook her head meeting his fist with her own before slapping their hands and sliding them back. Matthew then spat in the palm of his hand before holding it out to Katie who looked at him like he was crazy.

"I've told you a hundred times that we're not doing that." Katie said before turning and heading for the door.

"You better answer when I call!" Matthew called and Katie simply waved toward him. She walked into the hall where she found Clint waiting for her.

"Now do you want to tell me what brought all of this on?" Clint asked. "This isn't about what happened, because I'm good, we can stay."

"No this isn't about that." Katie replied. "This is something else, something I will tell you about later, but right now I have one more person I need to see before we leave." she walked around him to the elevator and Clint was right behind her. She turned to him and placed her hand on his chest. "I have to go alone—" he opened his mouth to protest but Katie placed a finger on his lips. "And you need to clear the air with my brother."

"I don't think—"

"It might not help or maybe it will, right now just give it one more try. For me?" Katie asked. Clint didn't want to, but he nodded. He placed a kiss on her cheek before watching her step onto the elevator. Clint turned and sighed before begrudgingly stalking toward Matthew's room. He stopped in the doorway seeing Matthew with his tablet in hand before he knocked. Matthew glanced up to the man and visibly deflated. Clint wasn't the person he wanted to see at the moment.

"Rinny, just left." Matthew said before looking back down to his tablet.

"Uh, yeah. I know. I actually came to see you." Clint said walking into the room. Matthew didn't say anything or even spare him a glance. "I know the little that you know of me doesn't paint me in a good light." Matthew let out a snort, but didn't say anything to object. "When I met your sister, things were complicated, hell our whole lives were complicated and I—" Clint shook his head. "I didn't expect to feel—"

"Look, dude I really don't want to hear this." Matthew said breaking his attention from his tablet to look to Clint. "Whatever my sister sent you here to say, tell her you said it and just leave." Clint let out a annoyed sigh. Matthew was definitely as stubborn as his sister.

"Fine, let me just say this and I'll leave you alone." Clint replied and Matthew just dropped his eyes to his tablet. "I know I've screwed up on more than one occasion when it comes to Kat, but this time will be different. Before I was questioning so much and right now I'm not. I love her and I'm not going to hurt her, not again." Matthew glanced back to the man. "I know you don't know much about me and you probably don't want to, but know that I am a man who keeps his word and I promise you that I will protect your sister until the day I die. That will be my new mission in life and I won't fail." Clint waited for a reply and he half expected some smart aleck remark, but it would seem Katie's little brother would surprise him.

"I'm going to hold you to that," Matthew replied. "And I know you're some trained killer and all, but if you hurt my sister you're going to see another side of me, you got it?"

"Got it?" Clint said with a nod before turning around with a sense of accomplishment.

Katie fiddled nervously with the zipper of her jacket as she waited for the elevator to arrive at it's destination. The moment the doors slid open Katie look up the lab to see Tony standing with a glass of brown liquid in one hand as he swiped through some holospecs with the other. He glanced up to her as she walked in before looking back down to the specs.

"I thought you'd be gone by now." he grumbled before taking a sip from his glass.

"I thought we should talk first." Katie said walking over to him. He continued to avoid her eyes and so she reached over and grabbed the glass from his hand.

"Give it back!" he ordered angrily.

"No, one it's too early for the booze train and two, this doesn't solve anything." Katie said before handing the glass to dummy who took it away.

"There's nothing to solve." Tony said looking back down to the specs. "The puzzle that is you will never be solved and so I'm going to stop trying."

"What are you talking about?"

"I talking about this one hundred foot wall that you have up!" Tony snapped and Katie took a slight step back shocked by his anger. "This wall you keep up and you never let anyone in, well except for Barton. The ass who left you and then came back." she turned away and Tony simply shook his head. "I've been right here trying to help you and you give me nothing."

"I gave you this!" Katie said holding up her wrist and showing the bracelet. "Do you know what this is. This is blind, no holds bar trust and I gave it to you."

"Whatever," Tony grumbled turning his back to her.

"Don't whatever me." Katie said stalking over to place herself in front of him. "You're upset because I won't spill all my secrets, well tough shit. You don't know everything, because I can't let everything out. I can't—" she shook her head. "My wall keeps me safe and it keeps me strong."

"What do you need to be safe from?"

"From—" she stopped because she could feel it happening. Walls she's tried so hard to keep up and memories she's kept buried for so long rearing their ugly head. "My life wasn't an easy one to live, but I've found a way to live it and it works for me. Tony out of all the people who know me, you know more of me than anyone and that includes Bart."

"Then tell me the truth right now, what is this all about?" Tony asked moving to stand in front of her. "Why are you leaving?" she simply smiled before leaning forward and placing a feather of a kiss to his cheek.

"I'm leaving because it's what has to happen right now." Katie whispered. "One day I will tell you and then you're going to laugh, but for now just accept that your kitten is flying the litter."

"Kittens don't fly."

"Not yet they don't."

"You're trying to distract me with your humor." Tony said with a quirked eyebrow and Katie simply chuckled. "Don't take off my bracelet."

"I won't." Katie replied giving it a slight shake. "This thing will be permanently attached to my body no matter how much I wish it wasn't." She stood there still trying to get a read on his emotions. "So are we cool Mr. Stark or should I start interviewing new best friends. It will be a long process, but I'm sure Bruce would—" Suddenly Tony pulled her into a hug and Katie brought her hands around him hugging him back. "If you miss me, just look at that freaky kitten mural."

"No if I miss you, I'm going to call and you're going to answer. No matter the time, place, level of sobriety, you will answer." Tony said before placing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Ugh, you're just hell bent on giving me your billionaire cooties." Katie said playfully pulling away. "I guess I should go."

"Wait, before you do, there's something I have to ask you and you can't just run off like you did last night."

"Fine, ask away."

"Ok," Tony said before clearing his throat. "Now I've thought long and hard about this...well not really since it wasn't a hard decision." Katie's phone beeped and Tony glared as he watched her snake it out of her pocket. Before she could look at the screen, he snatched it from her hand.

"Tony-"

"Let me finish." Tony said and Katie simply folded her arms over her chest and waited for him to continue. "Like I said, this really was a no brainer. You're my best bud, my amigo, the peanut butter to my jelly, the oompa to my loompa, the—"

"I think I get your point!" Katie said interrupting him. "I'm awesome, you're awesome. Together we're fucking awesome." she rolled her hand for him to get on with it. "Now get to the point."

"Fine, ruin the moment. Will you be my best man?" Tony asked. "Or should I say best woman, whatever, would you?" Katie smiled widely before she opened her mouth to reply. "Actually you don't have to answer, because you're doing it." she playfully glared at him. "And I hope you know I expect the full on treatment and that includes a kickass bachelor party."

"Can I at least ask when this wedding is happening?"

"I don't know." Tony said his eyes gazing over in thought. "I should probably find out."

"You think!" Katie said before swatting his arm. "Now give me my phone." Tony looked down to the screen and looked confused. "What?"

"Have you been using my AI without me knowing?" Tony asked.

"I thought it was obvious that we share custody of little JAR JAR." Katie said before snatching her phone from his hand looking down to the screen. "You get weekdays and I—" the words stopped right on her tongue and Tony noticed the deep frown to came to her face.

"What's wrong?" he glanced down to the phone trying to find the source of her mood change. "Hey—" Katie looked back up to him and placed a chaste kiss to his cheek.

"I have to go." she said and before he could ask anymore questions she was already running to the elevator. The moment she spotted Clint and Natasha talking, Katie thanked her lucky stars. "Hey!" they both turned to see the woman running toward them.

"Kat, what's wrong?" Clint asked and Katie simply turned to Natasha.

"Do you have a way to contact Lucifer?"

"Weren't you there when he said—"

"Yeah, I know. Any one comes looking for him, go look to the grave, but this is important. Now can you get in contact with him?"

"I have a number that's only suppose to be used in life and death situations and even then he has to actually care."

"Well this time I think he will." Katie said before turning her phone for both Natasha and Clint to see.

"Wait, does that say what I think it says?" Clint asked.

"Ward?" Natasha muttered.

"Grant Ward is HYDRA." Katie said and Natasha brought her eyes back the woman. "We need to contact Coulson right away."

"That's going to be difficult."

"Why?"

"Because Coulson and his team have gone off the grid. No communications in over seventy two hours." They stood there for a few moments letting those words resonate before Katie finally spoke.

"You know that plane I needed on the ready?" Katie asked and Natasha nodded. "Well, ready!"


	16. Chapter 16

At the moment, Katie was slightly nervous. She was also anxious, tense, and angry. But there was a small part of her—a part she wasn't too proud of, that was excited. Her life was beginning to get a little to deep and secrets were being unfolded and right now all she wanted was a distraction. Something she could throw herself into completely and for just a while forget her own troubles. And so she sat cross legged on the grass, her hood over her head and her laptop on her lap.

"Question," Clint said breaking the silence. He chose to stand, keeping his eyes to sky awaiting the plane that would be arriving soon. "When this plane gets here, where exactly is it going?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out now." Katie muttered not taking her eyes from screen. Natasha said Coulson and his team had went off grid and without any bread crumbs Katie was going to have to do something she really didn't want to do. She was going to have to think like Phil Coulson.

"You're cutting it a little close aren't you?"

"Well seeing as I didn't find out that my friend could possibly be in the hands of a psycho murderer, I don't know an hour ago, I would say I'm moving pretty quickly!" Katie snapped still not breaking contact from the screen.

"Look, I know you're worried, but Coulson is smart. I'm sure at this point he's probably figured all of this out." Clint replied and Katie didn't say anything. "Before we freak out, let's just see where the situation is at the moment."

"Well could you do that without talking, because I'm trying to concentrate." Katie said glancing over to him quickly. For a few moments, Clint complied. He stood looking up to the sky before glancing back over to Katie.

Even though Katie wasn't too fond of the man, Ward being HYDRA really was a shock. The entire time she knew him, he was always the straight and narrow type of agent. He was one of those agents who did things by the book no matter how annoying it was.

"I still can't believe it, Ward." he said mirroring Katie's thoughts. "He was good, a good agent, one of the best I've worked with."

"Well you grow up with John Garrett as a mentor, you're sure to grow up a with a few screws loose." Katie said.

"You know I remember you guys seemed a little chummy for a while." Clint said and this was enough for Katie to break her attention from the screen to look to him. "I'm just asking, did anything happen with you two?" Katie looked at him for a long moment with obvious annoyance. "What, it's not a stupid question."

"Actually, it is." she turned back to her laptop and began typing away. "Nothing ever happened between me and Ward."

_Katie's days in SHIELD would usually find her in the one place she loved. Her tiny office that many referred to as the super brain cave. She was typing away in her own little world until a knock startled her. She turned her head to see a familiar face._

" _And here I was thinking you didn't make it out of cadet hell." Katie said spinning her chair to see Grant Ward leaning on her door frame. The man was dressed to the nines in one of the usual SHIELD black suits. "Good for you."_

" _You're the Super Brain?" Ward asked with a slight chuckle. "And here I was expecting some nerd with a pocket protector." Katie smiled as she opened one side of her jacket to reveal the pocket protect in the breast pocket of her blouse. "I stand corrected. You are a nerd with a pocket protector."_

" _Oh, you're making me blush." Katie said sarcastically before spinning her chair around back to her computer. "I rarely see agents around here unless they need something decrypted, downloaded, or explained really really slowly." she began typing away. "What is it that you want?"_

" _Dinner,"_ _Katie stopped typing and turned back to him._

" _I think the cafe is still open if you're hungry." Katie replied and Ward simply smiled before taking a step inside, but Katie quickly shot up a hand. "Uh, I don't believe I invited you in." Ward simply held up his hands and stepped back to the door frame._

" _May I come in?"_

" _Depends."_

" _On?"_

" _Why are you here?"_

" _I told you dinner," Ward said folding his arms over his chest. "With you."_

" _Why?"_

_His brow furrowed and he simply shook his head as if that was a stupid question._

" _It's what people do when they like other people. I happen to like you."_

" _You've met me once and in that five minutes you learned next to nothing about me." Katie replied crossing her own arms over her chest._

" _I beg to differ. I saw your ID badge, so I knew you were a brain and that meant you had to be smart. And then our conversation, although short had it's humorous moments. So smarts and humor is kind of a good combination and so here I am." She still looked slightly suspicious. "Why is it hard for you to believe that someone would ask you out?"_

" _I'm not, I'm surprised some guy I met weeks ago is suddenly showing up in my office asking me out to dinner." Katie said before standing to her feet. "Is this some sort of new recruit prank, because if it is I promise I'm not the techie you want to be messing with."_

" _This isn't a prank, this is me thinking that maybe you would enjoy my company for an evening."_

" _Why would you think I would enjoy your company?" Katie asked and Ward grabbed his chest in mock offense. "I get it, you really don't know me and that's cool, not a lot of people do. So this little nugget of information I'm going to just tell you. I do not trust easily, especially people I don't know and you-" she squinted her eyes with a slight shake of her head. "There's just something about you that I can't put my finger on."_

" _That could be a good thing."_

" _Or it could be a disaster."_

" _And don't we owe it to ourselves to find out?" Ward asked and Katie simply walked over to him._

" _Sorry, I have to figure you out first." Katie replied._

" _You know, no woman has ever made me work this hard." Ward replied and Katie laughed, but stopped when another familiar face appeared at her door._

" _Well today must be my lucky day. Two handsome gentlemen gracing my door." Katie said. "What can I do for you Agent Barton?" Clint looked between Katie and Ward who stood up a little straighter in his presence._

" _Sir," the young Agent greeted before looking over to Katie. "I should go."_

" _I will be here if you need something decrypted, downloaded or explained really, really slowly." Katie said with a wave._

" _You know, I just might take you up on that." Ward said glancing over to Clint, noticing a slight glare the man wore, before turning and walking away._

" _What was that about?" Clint suddenly asked and Katie turned to him and glared._

" _How can I help you today Agent Barton?" Katie asked ignoring his question. Clint simply pulled a disk from his pocket and handed it to Katie. "I will get this back to you in an hour." Katie turned and walked back over to her desk._

" _Seriously, what was that about Kat?"_

" _Door, close!" Katie yelled to her AI and suddenly the door slid closed in the man's face._

Soon the shuttering of propeller blades snapped Katie from her thoughts. She glanced up to the sky to see the large plane lowering.

"So you got anything?" Clint asked looking over to her.

"Yeah, from what Natasha was able to give me access to, I was able to come across something." Katie replied standing to her feet and walking over to him. "Look." Clint looked at the screen for a moment not sure what he should be looking at. "It was buried deep and even encrypted, but they're coordinates. Most likely from Fury to his good eye." they both looked out to see the plane touching land. "At least now we have a starting point."

It wasn't the usual flashy, high tech SHIELD plane they were accustomed, but they figured since there wasn't anymore SHIELD, all the neat toys probably were under lock and key as well. Clint sat beside Katie whose eyes were closed for the majority of the ride.

"I still don't understand, how after all this time you still hate flying." Clint said and Katie opened her eyes to look over to him. "It's the safest form of travel. You know I read somewhere that you're more likely to get struck by lightening than to die in a plane crash."

"You know I think I read that too." Katie said turning her body toward him. "I also read that you're more likely to get punched in the face in this plane if you keep talking, than if you were on the ground."

"You know you say things like that, but you know you can't take me Kat." Clint says reaching down to take her hand in his.

"You think so?" Katie asked unable to stop the smile on her lips. There was a slight tingling inside her stomach that always seemed to rear it's ugly head when only he touched her. "You know that kind of sounded like a challenge."

"Not a challenge, just a statement of fact." Clint replied folding his arms over his chest as he closed his eyes and lied back on his seat. Katie sat there staring at him for a moment just shaking her head.

"You know you're going to have to back that up, right?"

"Oh, I'm looking forward to it." Clint replied opening his eyes and turning to her with a look that showed he was not talking about sparring. It was a look he seemed to only give her and that always stirred feelings inside of her that at the moment they could not afford to entertain.

"Keep that look to yourself Agent Barton, we're working." Katie said turning away from him before she unbuckled her belt and jumped him right there.

"Later, then?" he asked and Katie could feel his eyes on her, but she refused to turn to him. His hand slipped to her thigh and she turned to him with a playful glare.

"You need to focus." Katie said grabbing his hand before it became an even better flight. She grabbed her laptop and placed it in her lap.

"What are you looking for now?"

"If Coulson is at Providence, then us just walking through the front door won't be an option." Katie said typing away. "And since all of SHIELD's files are now the property of the US government, I'm going to have to be extra careful when I, oh...done." Clint leaned over to see the schematics of the base. "That was easier than I thought it would, our government needs to seriously invest in a better cyber division. It's laughable."

"Providence is a pretty high security base, and if its really one of the few bases still SHIELD controlled, then you better believe slipping in won't be easy." Clint said looking down to the screen. "My credentials probably are still active, I could try talking to whoever is in charge."

"I don't think that's going to work." Katie said. "The whole world just witnessed SHIELD imploding. No one's trusting anybody right now. Let's just hope Coulson is there and will jump for joy when he see us."

"I think we have a better chance at getting struck by lightening than to see Coulson jump for joy right now."Clint replies. "He was one of the people I can honestly say was the job. He believed in what he did and now to find out that the majority of it was a lie-" Clint shook his head and Katie looked over to him to realize that maybe he wasn't just talking about Coulson.

"What about you?" Katie asked and Clint looked over to him. "You were the job too or maybe you still are."

"Kat-"

"Clint Barton I love you and I understand that all of this is hard on you, so if you're a little upset with the way things turned out, then I would understand. SHIELD was your life and-"

"You're my life now." Clint interrupted her grabbing her hand and pressing a soft kiss against her knuckles. Katie closed her laptop and slid it off her lap before turning and leaning forward to bring her lips to his in a sweet, warm kiss that had them both buzzing. When they pulled away, Clint's hand rested on Katie's cheek, while her hands rested on his chest.

"This will be it." Katie said with a soft smile. "We save uncle Phil, and then you and me, we disappear for a little while." Clint pulled back slightly, his brow furrowed as he looked at her. She thought she said something wrong and quickly just shook her head. "If you want, I mean if not then—" her words were cut short by Clint's lips slammed against hers in a kiss fueled by pure passionate, unwavering love. "So I'm guessing you're alright with this."

"You've picked up that annoying thing where words come out of your mouth." Clint said pulling her closer to him. "You don't do that the whole time we're together, do you?" Katie laughed as he reached over and unbuckled her seat belt and he pulled her into his lap. They had been at it for a while before the sound of someone clearing their throat brought them back to reality. Both turned to see one of the pilots with a large duffel in his hand.

"Sorry to—" he just gestured a hand to them. "We're going to be landing soon and we were instructed to give you this." The pilot simply sat the bag on the floor before turning and going back to the cockpit. Katie and Clint shared a look before looking down to their current position. It was a small seat, but they found a way to tangle themselves in one another.

"That was embarrassing." Katie said pulling from Clint and walking over to grab the bag. She knelt down and unzipped the bag and quirked an eyebrow at what she saw.

"What is it?"

"Either Natasha has a really sick sense of humor or I'm not going to be liking this trip very much." Katie says pulling out a really puffy winter coat. She looked over to Clint who just shook his head. "So I'm guessing it's going to get cold."

"Oh sweet heart you're going to be begging for New Mexico." Clint replied trying to hold in his laughter.

Once the plane landed and Katie and Clint stepped off, seeing nothing but snow in their sights. Both looked a bit nervous, as the plane that had just carried them was lifting into the sky without them.

"Who the fuck would build anything here?" Katie said shivering under her thick coat. She was totally bundled up from top to bottom, but she was still cold.

"It's not that bad." Clint said scanning the area. Katie looked over to him to see him looking completely unaffected by the weather. "I've been worse places."

"Well whoopty freaking doo, where is this place?" Katie asked as Clint lifted his eyes to the sky.

"That way?"

"What, did the wind tell you?" Katie asked trying to figure out where that piece of information came from.

"Actually it did." Clint said and Katie simply stared with a look of unamusement. He turned to her to reveal the GIS device in his hand. "It was in my pocket." Katie simply shook her head before walking past him. They'd been walking for what seemed like forever. After a while Katie began to get tired and just couldn't walk anymore, so she stopped and plopped down in the snow. "We have to keep going so we don't lose the sun."

"I get that, I really do, but I was never one for nature." Katie closed her eyes and tried to even out her breaths. "Even when my dad—" she stopped and opened her eyes as if she said something she wasn't suppose to say.

"What?"

"Nothing." Katie said with a shake of her head.

"You know you can talk about him." Clint says walking over and kneeling in front of her. "To me, you can talk about him."

"I know, I just don't think I can." Katie replied. "Whenever I start talking about him, it always leads to that moment in the living room, with Lumen." Katie closed her eyes and took a deep breath before jumping to her feet. "You're right, we should keep moving." and so they were walking again. This time in silence, until Clint decided to do something he probably shouldn't, but he was going to do it anyway.

"So what was he like?" Clint asked and Katie glanced over to him. "Your dad." she shook her head and just turned away.

"I thought we had a deal, you weren't going to ask about him." Katie replied.

"Yeah, well things are different now. This whole thing with your mom possibly being alive. Your dad may have known, so at some point you're going to have to dredge this stuff up."

"Some point isn't now." Katie countered. "And talking about my dad isn't going to answer any questions. He never even hinted that my mother could still be alive and so if he did know then he was really good at hiding it. I guess SHIELD agents are trained to be good liars." suddenly Katie stopped.

"What?" Clint asked stopping as well.

"I'm just thinking that if my mother is alive, who would have the ability to hide something like that?" Katie asked.

"You think SHIELD could be involved?"

"They've been involved with every other nook and cranny of my life, so why not?" Katie said as they continued walking. "I can't believe I'm even entertaining this idea. My mother is dead, that's that and whatever those men were looking for, it wasn't my mother."

"We've seen a lot of strange things Kat." Clint replied. "Maybe faking one's death is a hereditary trait?" Katie tossed a fist to his arm. "Ow!"

"Hey, I heard physical contact is good in such weather conditions." Katie said and Clint reached over and grabbed her before pulling her closer to him.

"You know I think I heard that too," Clint replied bringing his arms around her and leaning in close. "But what I heard it involved a little less clothing than we have now."

"Really? That's too bad because there is no amount of kissing or touching that you can do that can get me to take off a stitch of clothing right now." Katie said with a teeth chattering smile. "You can kiss me though, maybe that will warm me up." Clint leaned forward bringing his lips to hers.

"Better?" he asked.

"Much." Katie replied as he brought his lips back to hers. As always, when they began kissing, they began to ignore everything around them. The only thing to bring them back to reality was the sound of the clicking of the clip of a gun being ejected. Katie and Clint both froze, their eyes looking to each other as they began to raise their hands.

"Hands on your head, now!" a voice yelled and Katie and Clint slowly brought their hands to the back of their head.

"SHIELD?" Katie whispered.

"Or HYDRA." Clint whispered back before turning his head to the right. "One." Katie turned her head to the left.

"I got one." she muttered giving the man a look over. He was wearing army colors. Clint took a step, but Katie grabbed his jacket. He looked back to her with confusion. "Wait, I think there's a third option."

"I said hands on your head or I will shoot." the man said and Clint looked over to the man, now noticing the man's uniform as well. He looked over to the other who had a hand pressed to his ear.

"Yes sir," the man said before looking over to his partner. "The boss wants us to bring them in." the other man simply nodded.

"What do we do?" Katie whispered to Clint.

"We see where they take us." he replied before they were pushed behind one of the men, while the other trailed behind them, his gun held firmly in his hand. They hadn't been walking long when they walked to a rock wall, or in other words, a dead end.

"What is this?" Katie asked looking over her shoulder to the gun wielding guard. "There's nothing here." As if to answer her question, a sound hit Katie's ears. She turned to see the rock wall opening up, revealing something more. "So secret facility is really secret?"

"No kidding." Clint muttered as they walked inside. The moment they stepped inside they were immediately greeted with the familiar faces of Coulson, Maria and the unexpected face of Colonel Glen Talbot.

"You can lower your guns." Maria said glaring to the guard behind them. "They're with us. I don't know how or even why, but they are." she looked over to the Colonel who simply nodded and the man lowered his weapon and Katie and Clint finally lowered their hands.

"Who exactly are they?" the colonel asked looking over to Maria.

"They're with me, that's all you're getting Colonel." Maria said with an annoyed look before turning back to Clint and Katie. "To be honest this is the last place I thought I would see you two, which only worries me." Katie looked over to Coulson who remained quiet.

"I need to talk to you." Katie said and Coulson simply nodded. She looked over to Clint and then to Maria. "You may want to join us." Katie then looked to Talbot. "You, not so much." and with that Katie followed behind Coulson, Maria and Clint right behind her.

"Hill—" Talbot started and Maria turned to him.

"I'm giving you a gold mine here, you can give us ten minutes." Maria said before turning to join the others.

They all walked into an empty room silently. Once Maria walked in, and Clint closed the door and placed himself in front of it.

"This is a surprise, and if it's one thing I've learned, it's that there are no good surprises." Maria said looking over to Clint and Katie. "This was once a well kept secret, how the hell did you find it."

"Well one, there are rarely any secrets that were kept from the lab tech. None of you knew it but I was unlocking doors and snooping most of the time I was there." Katie said with a shrug. "And two since all SHIELD files are the property of the US government, it was barely a secret anyway." she turned to Coulson who'd been uncharacteristically quiet. "I had to think like Coulson and ask myself WWCD." she smiled slightly.

"And that worked?" Hill asked.

"No, so I combed through the files until I found one of Coulson files and there was an encrypted attachment and yada yada yada, I found the coordinates to this facility."

"Why?" Coulson spoke and Katie turned to him.

"I thought I was coming to save you, but it looks like I'm too late." Katie replied looking over to Maria. "I'm guessing you know. Well of course you know because if you didn't, there wouldn't be an obnoxious Colonel and his merry men standing in one of Fury's super secret bases." no one said any thing and Katie looked between Maria and Coulson. "Why do I get the feeling that this is something else."

"Why are you here?" Coulson asked the patience clearly slipping away.

"HYDRA spanded further than any of us knew and were right under our noses. I wanted to make sure your team was clear." Katie said and Coulson turned away. He wasn't curious and that could only mean he already knew what she was about to say.

"Ok, I'm lost, what is this?" Maria asked searching their faces for answers. Coulson turned back to Katie and in that moment she could see the toll that all of this had taken on him. It was in his eyes. At unexpected times, all of Phil Coulson's emotions were in his eyes.

"Why is the Colonel here?" Katie asked turning to Maria who sighed with a shake of her head. "Did you sell out?"

"Oh, grow up. I didn't sell out, because their's nothing to sell out." Maria replied, her eyes turning to Coulson's. "We are gonna turn over these abandoned tunnels to the US government, who will be ever so grateful to take possession of an enemy stronghold in their backyard."

"And my team?" Coulson asked taking a step toward the woman and Katie took a step back to get out of the line of any blows the may be passed. They continued with the back and forth before Katie finally stepped forward to separate them.

"This isn't helping anything!" Katie said looking between the agents. "We don't have time for this. We still have HYDRA to deal with apparently."

"After DC, they don't stand a chance." Maria replied.

"John Garrett does." Coulson said and a frown formed on Maria's face.

"Garret?" Maria looked between Katie and Coulson to see that this little fact was only news to her. "I thought Ward took care of him."

"So did a lot of people," Katie replied with a shake of her head. "And it would seem we were played."

"Ward's his secret weapon." Coulson said and the look of shock washed over Maria's face. She turned away trying to rack her minds for any clues that could've foretold this, but there weren't any. He really did play them. "He killed Victoria Hand and raided the Fridge and he has Skye."

"Skye?" Katie asked turning to Coulson. "Your computer lady?" Coulson simply nodded. "Does she have her computer?"

"I don't know, but I've already tracked the bus to LA." Coulson said turning back to Maria.

"Well they're there for a reason, and if I can flag her, maybe she can give us they're exact location." Katie said walking over to her bag and pulling out her laptop and opening it up. "I'm going to need a little help from Pip and Dip." Katie looked up to the faces looking at her. "Where are they?" no one said anything as everyone turned to Maria. "C'mon Hill this changes things and you know it, so just hop on the bandwagon already." Maria shook her head before turning her eyes to Katie.

"What are you going to need?"

Katie opened her mouth before the door pushed open. Clint took a step back, moving to stand beside Maria as Colonel Talbot and two of his soldiers came waltzing in.

"Can we move this thing along?" the Colonel asked looking between their faces, a smug grin on his face. "I'd like to tear this room apart." Maria looked over to Clint and slightly nodded before glancing over to Coulson and did the same. Katie took a couple of steps back and rested her back against the wall and waited.

"Sure thing," Maria said taking a step toward Talbot. "Knock yourself out." without hesitation, Maria punched the Colonel in the face. The other two soldiers stepped forward, but Clint and Coulson was there to take them. Katie stood at her place on the wall, silently watching the fight in front of her before glancing to her watch. She rolled her hand, gesturing for them to hurry up. Once the last soldier fell, the three former agents stood panting as Katie pushed herself from the wall.

"That was exciting." Katie sighs sarcastically stepping over the unconscious soldiers and out the door.

"Was she always this annoying?" Maria asked looking between Coulson and Clint who simply nodded.

Katie walked to a nearby room, where she heard voices. She walked inside to see Fitz, Simmons, and a man she'd never seen before. But her attention turned to the last of Talbot's men that was keeping guard.

"Katie?" Simmons surprised voice nearly yelled in the quiet room. All eyes suddenly went to Katie who simply waved before placing her things on a nearby table.

"What's going on?" The guard asked walking toward Katie his gun held in front of him. "Where's the Colonel?"

"Ok, about that," Katie said holding up her hands in surrender. "You're not going to believe it, but—" Katie unexpectedly grabbed the front of the man's gun, forcing it to point upwards against his restraint. She then kicked him in the stomach, releasing his grasp on the gun. With the gun in her hands, Katie jabbed the but of the rifle in the man's face knocking him out. "Your boss is unconscious in the other room." Katie tossed the gun on the floor before she was immediately pulled into a hug.

"God, it's good to see you!" Jemma Simmons said tightly embracing Katie. Katie hugged back, knowing that the past couple of days must have been crazy for her and the rest of the team.

"It's good to see you too Jem." Katie replied before the two parted. She looked over the familiar face of Leo Fitz standing to his feet as well. He only slightly glanced to her before turning away.

"Did you hear about Ward?" Jemma asked and Katie nodded before walking over to Fitz.

"I'm sorry." the man nearly muttered. Katie took a step closer and moved to stand in his sight. "I thought you—" he shook his head. "You weren’t the traitor. He was and he-"

"Leo, it's fine." Katie said placing a hand on his shoulder. "A lot of things that happened and are happening don't make sense, and they're confusing. You were made to believe one thing when another was happening."

"He's the one who made me believe that you weren't to be trusted." Fitz said turning away from her. "And I let him. After all the time that we... I'm sorry."

"Don't—"

"But I am." Fitz replied and Katie simply nodded before pulling him into a hug.

"Alright!" Maria's voice called and they all turned to see the the woman.

"Where's Bart and Coulson?" Katie asked.

"They've gone to get rid of anymore of Talbot's men and take his ride." Maria replied. "So while they're doing that, you should do your thing." Katie nodded walking over to her bag and grabbing her laptop before walking back over to Fitz and Simmons.

"Ok guys, it's time for team Brains." Katie said taking a seat as Leo and Jemma hovered over her shoulder to look to the screen. "Coulson tracked the bus to LA, but I wanted to see if Skye could narrow that for us. I need to access the IP address of Skye's computer to get her exact locale?"

"Assuming she has her computer and that he hasn't—" Simmons shook her head at the thought that Skye could really be in danger.

"You said once that Skye reminds you of me." Katie said and Simmons turned to her and nodded. "Well if that's true, then she's going to play him until she's clear. Right now we have to assume he doesn't suspect she's made him. He still thinks he's the one playing her." Katie turned back to her computer. "You two still have your gifts I sent you?"

"You mean the cool super illegal one that we're never suppose to talk about out loud?" Fitz asked and Katie nodded. "Of course." he leaned over her shoulder and typed in a few keys. "Here are some files sent to me from Sky's computer."

"And that's all I need." Katie said before her own fingers were typing away.

"Ok," Agent Antonie Triplett said walking over to stand beside Maria. "I may be a little late here, but is that..."

"That is Sparrow." Hill said as they watched the woman disappear in her work.

"Huh, I've heard about her but never seen her." Triplett replied watching as well. "She was starting to become as mythological as the Winter Soldier was."

"Well she's not really into attention, which some would say is a good thing." Maria said before walking over to get progress.

"Alright, while I'm working, we are going momentarily break rule number one." Katie said her fingers never stopping and her eyes never leaving the screen. "Why does Ward want Skye?"

"There's a flash drive." Simmons said. "It has all the research we've ever done on it. Lot's of valuable information that Skye incrypted."

"And now Ward wants it." Katie muttered before her fingers suddenly stopped. "I guess we shouldn't let him then." she leaned in closer to the screen as a black and gray map appeared, a blinking dot appearing, "I've got her." Katie looks up to Maria. "We're ready to go."

Soon they were on another plane, this one larger than the other. Katie sat once again with her eyes closed. Clint was in the front of the plane with Maria at the controls.

"So what's the plan?" Simmons asked breaking the plane's silence.

"Extraction." Coulson says simply. "I get Skye, stop Ward and then come back."

"I still can't believe—" Jemma let out a long sigh. "He was here and he made us think he cared. How could he do that?"

"It's what he was trained to do." Katie spoke and they glanced over to see her still closed eyes. "You see us brains can never truly understand the grueling mind of our agent co-workers. They're forced to put aside their morality and their compassion." her eyes flick open. "They're trained to lie with such conviction that even their own daughter wouldn't know it." she turned to the others seeing the confused looks they were giving her. "That's my opinion anyway."

Once they arrived in LA, locating the bus was simple. Coulson was up and getting ready once the plane landed. Though to his surprise, his solo mission wasn't going to be as solo as he thought. Clint walked into the cabin to see Fitz and Simmons, but Coulson and Katie were gone.

"Where's—" they simply gave him a look that answered his question. He ran back to the cockpit to see Coulson and Katie both running on foot to Coulson's aircraft.

"You should go back!" Coulson called as they ran toward the bus. "I can handle this alone."

"And I believe you," Katie replied. "But there was no way in hell I was going to let you."

"Let me?" Coulson asked as they stopped right below the landing gear. They heard the plane's engine and knew it would be lifting into the air soon. They both looked up before jumping and grabbing the side of the landing gear and pulling themselves on the plane. The moment their feet were on the plane, Coulson pulled out his gun and looked over to Katie. "Do you-" she reached behind her and pulled out a gun as well.

"Maria gave it to me." Katie whispered as they looked around the plane.

"She knew you'd be doing this?"

"She said she had a feeling I would need this." Katie replied as they quietly walked the plane. "I'm going this way, you go-"

"No, we're not splitting up." Coulson whispered and Katie looked over his shoulder.

"You have a big plane Agent Coulson and some might say that it's one of those over compensating things, but I see a very large plane with a lot of area to cover. Let's find your girl and get the hell out of here." Coulson hesitated for a moment before nodding and turning down one hall, while Katie went down another. Katie had been walking for a while before she stopped at the sound of gun fire. She turned about to go check it out, but found that probably wasn't going to be an easy thing to do.

"Kate, I really didn't expect to see you here." Ward said glancing down to Katie's gun. He took a step.

"I really wouldn't do that, because you and I both know that I wouldn't think twice about putting a bullet in you Grant." Katie said watching the man closely. A sadistic smirk came to his lips as he looked down to his gun. "You had a lot of people fooled you know that. Those people who've been working with you, who thought you were their friend, do you know what that did to them?"

"It was nothing personal." Ward replied and Katie scoffed.

"That's the agent motto isn't it? What you have to tell yourself as you're stabbing your friends in the back." Ward took another step and Katie shot a round right in front of the spot where his foot was. "I'm seriously practicing a lot of restraint right now seeing as you could be an asset to taking down your fucked up boss, so do not try me Grant." Katie lifted her eyes to see someone, she figured wasn't there to help her, coming behind Ward. One side of the man's face was badly scarred as he looked to Katie with a look that showed he wasn't happy. He was wearing some sort of body armor, that Katie noted looked very advanced.

"Where is she?" Ward asked still looking to Katie, but talking to the man behind him.

"Gone," the man said his eyes still on Katie. "Coulson drove them out of here."

"Drove?" Ward asked slightly confused, and made a note to ask about it later. The man suddenly rose his arm toward Katie, and suddenly some sort of device rose from his forearm.

"Hey!" Katie said her gun now pointing to him. "Do not move!"

"He's going to want her alive." Ward says over his shoulder. "You know he is." without a word a sudden laser shot from the device hitting Katie right in the chest knocking her to the ground on her back.

"I know." the man said as they walked to stand above her watching her body twitch from the electric shock.

_It was the biggest back yard she'd ever seen. That was the single thought a young Katie had as she ran through the large yard. She couldn't stop laughing as she followed a brightly colored butterfly._

" _I think she likes it here." a female voice spoke and Katie turned to see her daddy standing beside the pretty lady who she'd seen only a few times before. "I wish-" Martin took the woman's hand and she turned to him._

" _I know," he spoke before placing a kiss to her forehead. "But you know what has to happen." they both turned back to the little girl who was watching them._

" _I know." she said before walking over to the girl who held her arms open welcomely._

A loud snap of fingers literally snapped Katie back to consciousness. She opened her eyes, everything still a bit blurry and her body was buzzing. Fingers appeared in front of her face and snapped again, before the face of someone she hadn't seen in a long time also appeared.

"Hey there darlin," John Garrett said with a wide smile. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you."


	17. Chapter 17

It happened again. Clint couldn't believed it happened, but it did and now he was standing in some seedy motel room with Coulson and Hill.

"We'll need a base of operations, weapons, tactical backup." Coulson said while packing a bag with the supplies they snagged from the colonel's plane. "Who do you have working for you?"

"Okay, wait, wait." Maria said taking a step toward the man. "Hold on, Coulson. There are no more hidden bunkers."

"So you're saying that in the event that one of us got in to trouble-"

"If anyone found themselves in trouble then they better damn well be prepared to get themselves out of it." Maria interrupted. "Sparrow knew the risks when she stepped on that plane and just like every other agent—"

"But she's not an agent!" Coulson snapped. "Cut the crap, I know Fury has others."

"There is no Fury." Maria said with a shake of her head. "We're not bringing the band back together again, Coulson. It's over. There is no SHIELD anymore."

"Fine," Clint spoke breaking his silence. Coulson and Maria turned to him. "If no one will help, then I'll do it myself." Clint turned and stormed out of the room.

"Barton!" Maria called but he didn't stop. Hill simply growled in frustration before turning to Coulson. "You have to talk some sense into him before he gets himself killed."

"Why would I do that when I want the same thing he does."

"No you don't. Sure you want Sparrow back, but you and I both know that what you want is to take down Garrett and Ward and if you can do it, do it and walk. Let your people go their separate ways."

"And what? Turn themselves in? Cut a deal? Work in the private sector?"

"You know Stark would take you in a heartbeat."

"It's not my style." Coulson said and turned to the open door. "Sparrow's not an agent because if she was, she wouldn't be her." he turned back Hill. "She's still an asset and friend and we're going to get her back."

"Good luck." Maria said with a nod.

Skye was fiddling with the vending machine when Clint stalked by. She looked back to see if anyone else had come out of the room, but there was no one.

"Hey!" Skye called running after him. He didn't stop his fast paced walking, forcing her to quicken her step to keep up. "What's going on?"

"Since everyone's idea for a next move is to just sit on their ass, I'm going to actually do something and get her back." Clint says.

"Hey, wait. Stop!" Skye did something she probably shouldn't have done and grabbed the man's arm and moved to stand in front of him. "Look I get you're worried but you going on some solo mission against HYDRA sort of spells out trouble."

"Thanks for your concern person I've never met before, but if you don't mind—" Clint moved to step around her, but she moved with him.

"Skye!" Fitz's voice called and Skye looked over to see Fitz and Simmons both standing looking very nervous. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Skye simply shook her head before turning back to Clint.

"I know right now the go to option is to not trust anyone, and given where I've been for the past couple of days I understand, but I'm telling you that you're going to need help and right now we're it."

"Why?" Clint asked. "You have your own fight and I have mine. We came here for one thing and that was to make sure you all were safe and in the know about Ward. Now you do and she's just gone in the process. Right now I just want to get her back and get us as far away from anything as possible."

"Then let us help you." a voice spoke and Clint and Skye turned to see Coulson. "Like you said you have your fight and we have ours, but in the end we want the same thing. Despite what everyone's saying, there is still something here. SHIELD isn't just dead. SHIELD is right here, with us." Clint shook his head and turned away in thought. "They need her for something and as long as they need that, then they will keep her alive."

"But there are things worse than death, right?" Clint asked turning back to the man. "Things we were taught. What they were taught. Things that will make her wish she was dead. I know Garrett and you do too. He won't hold back."

"And she won't either." Coulson replied. "He will push her and she will push back. It will take something worse than John Garrett to break her."

Her wrists were bound together above her head and her feet chained to the floor by her ankles. She kept her eyes closed, trying to focus, which seemed to be the hardest thing to do at the moment. Her current tactic was replaying everything she knew at the moment. She was still on Coulson's plane, Ward was HYDRA, Garrett...

"You still with me honey?" his light southern drawl hit her once again. He was close to her face, his breath warm her ear. And then he laughed and Katie pulled at the chains holding her arms as she snapped opened her eyes to glare at the man. "There she is. There's the anomaly wrapped in a contradiction." Katie looked over the man's shoulder to see Ward leaning against the wall his arms folded over his chest. Garrett followed her eyes and laughed again. "I bet you didn't even see my boy coming. Your daddy would be so disappointed." Katie once again pulled at the chains and Garrett turned to her. "Now I know the legendary Marty Chambers trained you up good and the one thing he beat into you was to pay attention to the signs."

"Screw you, you sick son of a bitch!" Katie growled through her teeth. Focus. It was still playing in her head as if at any moment she was just going to black out again.

"You even have your daddy's mouth." Garrett said chuckling before reaching into his pocket and pulling out something Katie recognized. It was the flash Fury had gave to her. "I see you have something that doesn't belong to you. I'm sure you're just busting at the seems wondering what was so special about you and your dear old parents." he shook his head. "Hell there were times I asked myself that same question, but people in the expensive seats had their reasons."

"Is this going to be a long story because I'm moments away from blacking out again and don't need to be pushed into it." Katie said eying the man. "Let's just cut through the bullshit and get straight to point. Why am I here?"

"See there you go again," Garrett says wagging a finger to her. "Not paying attention. If you were paying attention, you'd already know the answer to that question." Katie looked at him for a moment trying to rack her brain for anything that made sense. Garrett's phone beeped and the man snagged it out of his pocket and glanced down to the screen. "We're going to continue this later. Right now I have more pressing things to deal with." he looked over his shoulder to Ward. "Keep her company."

"Yes sir." Ward replied before watching the man leave them. Once the door slid closed Katie and Ward's eyes went to each other. "Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?" Katie asked. "Like a backstabbing, bottom feeding piece of shit. Is that how I'm looking at you right now? I really hope I am." Ward turned away from her. "Is that—is that guilt I see, Grant?" he glared over to her. "You know you pissed off a lot of people. You know as well as anyone that letting people in is the one thing SHIELD teaches you not to do. You trust no one. They went against what they were taught and they-" she shook her head. "We trusted you and you let us down."

"Are you really playing the guilt card, Kate?" Ward asked walking over to her. "It won't work."

"Oh, I think it's already working. You maybe totally bat shit, fucked in the head like your buddy Garrett, but you do have something he doesn't."

"And what's that?"

"Your heart. It's why he placed you with Coulson and his team. He knew they'd see it. That thing he calls your weakness." Ward turned his back to her. "This is that moment Grant. That moment when your conscience is supposed to kick in." he turned back to her with a look of confusion. "You could end this now, because if you don't I promise there won't be a light at the end of your tunnel. They won't let it." he stared at her. Long and hard, but she couldn't read the emotions in his face. He was like Natasha in that way, always wearing his emotions on the inside, making him practically unreadable.

"I'm not the one who should be worried about seeing the end." Ward said. "You serve one purpose and once that purpose is served, there won't be any use for you."

"What purpose?"

"All in good time Kate," Grant said with a smile before turning and walking toward the door. "All in good time." Katie watched him until he was gone before lifting her head to her bound hands. Her eyes simply looked to the charm bracelet on her wrist.

"I knew I should've mentioned you to Bart." she muttered before closing her eyes and dropping her head.

Clint didn't sleep. He couldn't sleep. Not when he didn't know where Katie was. They were still held up at the motel, two days later. Coulson and May had been working on something, but it was too technical for him to even care to follow. They were working on an angle to lead to Garrett and right now that wasn't the plan he wanted to be apart of. He needed a plan that lead to Katie. And the beginning of that plan was to make a call he did not want to make.

Clint paced back and forth along the pool, his phone gripped tightly in his hand. They hadn't even been gone a week before they'd found trouble. He could practically hear the annoying voice of the man he needed to call.

"You've been out here for a while." a voice spoke and Clint turned to see Melinda May. She'd shown up the same night Katie was taken. "You want to talk about it?"

"Not really," Clint replied still pacing and glancing down to his phone ever so often. "You guys find something?"

"We've found a connection between Garrett and a company called Cybertek, it's-"

"I've heard of them." Clint says interrupting. The large tech company was pretty big and even rival Stark Inc in some areas. But Clint wasn't too interested in tech companies at the moment. "How does that help me find Katie?"

"It doesn't." May replied and Clint finally stopped pacing and looked over to her. "Agent Barton, you are in the field right now and your emotions are getting the best of you."

"My emotions are not getting the best of me. If they were, somebody would be dead right now." Clint growls before stalking over to the woman. "And right now, I'm not Agent Barton because there's nothing to be an agent of. SHIELD is gone and right now the only thing I have is being kept by some Nazi lunatic. Cybertek, what do they have to do with anything?"

"They're practically connected to every case we've come across. Garrett included. He's hiding something and we think we could find it there."

"So what's the plan?"

"Data collection. We get it and we find the truth." May replied

"That's gonna be kind of hard without any SHIELD toys." Clint said and May simply smiled. "But I'm guessing Coulson has a way around that."

"You know his mind is always spinning." May said before nudging her head to their room. "C'mon, we could use you." Clint didn't move and May sighed as she turned to him. "This doesn't get us directly to her, but it gets us a step closer. Right now that's the best we can do." Clint looked at her for a moment. A step was better than anything he had at the moment. So he just nodded and followed her to the room.

At the moment, Katie's main objective was to keep her eyes open. Blacking out and not knowing what was happening to her or around her was not an option. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, hoping it would keep her conscious. Katie looked up to her wrists at the metal clamps around them. She'd stared at them for nearly an hour trying to come up with a plausible way to free herself from them. Her eyes glanced down to her ankles that were clamped with the same metal, but the chains were long enough that she could move them.

"C'mon, think." Katie muttered when suddenly the door slid open and in walked a woman. "Another one of Garrett groupie's."

"I am not a groupie." the woman said walking over to Katie. "I am a fan though. Of yours."

"Are you fan enough to get me out of this thing?" Katie asked and the woman simply shook her head.

"That's not why I'm here." the woman said and Katie turned away. "I just wanted to see you. I remember reading about you when I was in college. The young woman making a splash in the scientific world and then all of a sudden you just disappeared. Who knew you'd been scooped up by SHIELD."

"So what you're saying is you didn't come here to help me?" Katie asked turning back to the woman.

"You know we have a mutual acquaintance. I believe you know Myles." the woman said. "He—"

"I don't care!" Katie snapped, the chains rattling as she pulled them in frustration. "I'm chained on a plane by a crazy person. The last thing I want to do is have girl talk with an equally crazy broad. So do me a favor, get the hell out of here." the door once again slides open and in walks Ward.

"Raina, what—" he looks between the two women. "You know no one's suppose to come here."

"I was just too curious." Raina replies with a shake of her head before turning and heading for the door. She stops just before leaving and turns back to Katie. "One day you're going to wish you listened to what I had to say."

"Today, I'm just wishing you'd disappear." Katie replied before they woman turned and walked out. "Get me out of this Ward, because the longer you keep me chained up like this, like an animal, the angrier I get. And to quote a friend of mine, you will not—hell you're gonna hate me when I get angry."

"Sorry Kate," Ward said walking over to her. "You're just gonna—" before he could get another word out, Katie had kicked her legs up and wrapped them around his neck.

"I'm sorry Grant, what were you saying?" Katie taunted as she squeezed her legs as tightly as she could around his neck, but Ward wouldn't go down without a fight. He began pulling her legs and to her dismay he really was stronger than he looked and soon freed himself.

"That—" Ward said hunched over grabbing his knees to catch his breath. "That was a bad idea." he stood up straight and walked over to her before grabbing her shoulder and throwing a forceful punch to her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. "One day you're going to learn that you really are just a brain and that you should've stayed in your little lab." he lifted her chin to bring her eyes to his. "And because of that little stunt, we get to take a field trip." he slipped his phone from his pocket and hit one button before bringing it to his ear. "Yeah, we're moving her."

Clint sat in the passenger side of a van outside of Cybertek, his eyes looking out the window, but his head was elsewhere.

"We should say something to him." Simmons whispered over to Fitz from the back of the van where they along with Skye and Triplett were sitting as they awaited for Coulson and May to contact them again. "He's really worried about her."

"What can we say?" Leo replied. "We have no idea why Garrett wants her or if she's even still alive."

"She's still alive." Skye said looking down to her computer. They all looked to her for her to explain her sudden knowledge. She looks up to see their eyes on her.

"And how do you know that?" Agent Triplett asks.

"Because someone like her is just too valuable to kill. From what I heard, she was like the oracle of SHIELD. She knows a lot of secrets and someone like that you just don't kill. He wants something from her, what, I guess that's what we need to find out."

"Hey, guys, get ready for a large file transfer." Coulson's voice announces through the ear piece.

"How large?" Skye asks when suddenly they hear a loud crash. They all jump out of the van to see a file cabinet falling from the sky. "Seriously?"

"You guys might want to step back." Clint says walking around the van, his bow in hand as he places one of his arrows in place. Coulson and Melinda step back before Clint shoot in arrow right above their heads, a rope connected. Once the rope is tied and secure, May and Coulson zipline down to the others.

"Nice shot." Coulson says looking over to Clint who simply nods before turning and walking back to the van.

"He used to be a lot more fun to have on missions." May said with a shake of her head before they all climbed into the van.

Once again Clint found himself pacing outside of their room next to the pool. The others were inside looking over the finding in the cabinet whereas he could care less about what was in it. He didn't come here for some John Garrett take down. And so he was going to do what he really didn't want to do. He dialed a familiar number and placed the phone to his ear.

Tony was standing at the door of Matthew's hospital room watching the young man being helped into a wheelchair.

"I still don't see who would want to leave this place." Tony commented with a shake of his head.

"You wouldn't." Matthew replied. "I'm seriously looking forward to going back to my own place, where there isn't a nurse Nazi watching my every move." he directed that comment to Blair who simply ignored him. "You are an evil woman Blair."

"That evil woman helped you to be able to pee all by yourself again." Tony replied and Matthew sent him a glare. "You should be kissing her feet right now."

"I don't think I would let this man's lips near any part of my body Mr. Stark." Blair replied before giving Matthew a pat on the head.

"I doubt that's the first time he's heard that." Tony said walking over and grabbing the handles of the wheelchair and pushing him out of the room. "This thing is way too slow, why won't you just let me—"

"No Tony, I don't want some motorized wheelchair that shoots lasers and flies." Matthew said before grabbing the wheels and rolling himself. Tony gave Blair a wave before following after Matthew toward the elevator. Once they got on, Matthew looked up to Tony before standing to his feet.

"What are you doing?"

"This was for the evil witch you hired." Matthew said stretching a bit. "Despite popular belief, I really am fine. And since Rinny isn't here, I expect none of the nagging."

"Hey, as long as you don't fall or bleed on anything I own, do whatever you want." Tony replied before hearing his phone ring. He snagged it from his pocket and saw an unexpected number. "Shit, this can't be good." Tony said before bringing the phone to his ear. "What the fuck did you do and where is my kitten?"

" _For the first time in your life Tony, I'm going to need you to just shut up and listen."_ Clint replied. " _When Katie went missing, you knew exactly where to find her. How?_ "

"Is she missing?" Tony asked before slapping the wall of the elevator. "Jesus fucking Christ bird brain, it hasn't been a week and you've already lost her."

" _Tony, right now I'm not in the mood, will you answer my question!"_ Clint snapped. " _Can you find her?"_

"Yeah, I can." Tony replied before hanging up the phone. "JARVIS, new plan, I need you to locate Katie's tracking device and send the results to my phone." Tony turned to Matthew who was waiting expectantly for him to explain.

"Is my sister missing again!" Matthew asked and Tony simply nodded. "Oh, I'm going to kill that jackass."

"You're going to have to get in line." Tony says when the doors slide open to his penthouse. They walk off just as a ding sounds from Tony's phone. Looking down to the phone, Tony suddenly stops dead in his tracks.

"What is it?" Matthew asked. "Where is she?"

"Well if the coordinates are right, then I'd say she's about a couple of hours out from Cuba." Tony mutters looking back up to Matthew who looks just as confused as him. "Why the hell would she be in Cuba?"

"If she's smart, getting away from the the dickhead, but seeing as this is my sister I would say she's into something." Matthew replied. "And since there are people trying to kill her, we're going to need to know like now. So what are we doing?"

"There were lots of, "We's" in that sentence." Tony says with a cocked eyebrow. "Sorry, Mr. Feeble Mc. Feebleson, I only roll with the big dogs and I could probably knock you down with a huff and a puff right now." Tony moved to walked toward the elevator, but Matthew placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Look I know technically you're my boss, my landlord and you're letting me crash here for free, but you'll see a whole different side of me if you don't let me in on this." Matthew said seriously and it was a side to the young man that Tony hadn't seen before.

"And how do you plan to help?" Tony asked.

"Well I know a guy who might be able to help." Matthew said and Tony once again quirked an eyebrow. "Well I don't know him, Rinny knows him and she gave me his number to call in like a life death situation and since my sister is headed to a foreign country under unknown circumstances, I'd say this could constitute as one of those situations."

"I have a feeling your sister has come across a lot of people in her life and I'm just not sure I'm ready to go dark alley just yet." Tony replied before bringing his phone to his ear. "Plus I'm loaded and I can get us to Cuba in no time."

"Who's going to Cuba?" a new voice said and both Matthew and Tony turned to see Pepper walking from the bedroom.

"Uh...well I can't tell you?" Tony said, not knowing why he made it sound like a question. He turned to Matthew for help and the young man simply shrugged before turning back to Pepper.

"It has to do with the wedding." Matthew said and Pepper just looked between the men suspiciously. "We were searching for the perfect wedding gift...for you."

"Right!" Tony said now smiling widely. "That's right and you were eavesdropping. Pepper I'm disappointed."

"Sure you are." Pepper said her voice still holding slight suspicion. "Well there will be no going to Cuba today."

"Why not?" both men asked simultaneously.

"Please don't tell me you forgot Tony." Pepper sighs folding her arms over her chest. "We talked about this last night and this morning."

"To be honest I really wasn't paying attention to anything you were saying. I was however enjoying the way you—"

"Tony, my parents!" Pepper snapped. "They're coming into New York today and we're having dinner with them."

"That's right." Tony muttered before turning to Matthew who didn't look too thrilled. Tony turned back to Pepper. "Maybe we could—" Tony saw the quirk of Pepper's eyebrow and knew if he were to even say a word sounding like reschedule, he'd be killed. "I mean sounds like fun honey." Pepper simply shook her head before turning and heading back down the hall.

"Sounds like fun honey." Matthew said before sending a whack to the man's shoulder. "What about Rinny?"

"Will you not hit me, I'm thinking." Tony said closing his eye mentally trying to find a solution to this no win situation. "Shit."

"What?"

"If I leave New York today, I'm not getting married." Tony replied turning back to Matthew.

"Alright, so my sister will die. Great plan. Ok, so go fuck yourself." Matthew snapped before storming toward the elevator.

"JARVIS, hold the elevator." Tony called before following after the man. "I must be one cool boss because you'd be fired right now." Tony grabbed Matthew's shoulder and pushed him to turn to face him. "Look, we're still forgetting the obvious move here."

"And what's that?"

"I could call the bird brain back and have him use whatever connections he still has to find her."

"Or to get her killed." Matthew said turning back to the elevator. "Open the doors JARVIS!"

"Don't do it buddy."

"Look do what you want, but I'm calling this guy." Matthew said taking out his phone and searching through his contacts until he spots the name "Rick"

Katie was moved to a room. One where she didn't have to wear any cuffs or chains, but a room with no sign of anything else. She was surrounded by metal walls as she sat with her knees to her chest. Time seemed to easily get away from her as she sat with her eyes closed. But she wouldn't fall asleep. Her father's voice was in her head telling her to stay awake, and to not let her guard down. She stood to her feet when the door swung open and in walked John Garrett. Katie noted that he looked slightly flushed, but he still wore a cocky smile. He was holding a tray with a sandwich and bottle of water sitting on top.

"I brought you something to eat, figured you'd be hungry."

"I would tell you where you could put that tray, but I don't think it would be anything you haven't heard before." Katie said, her back pressed against the wall. She glanced behind him to the door and he followed her eyes.

"I wouldn't try it." Garret said dropping the tray to the floor. "You might get passed me, but you won't get far."

"Why am I here?" Katie asked. "I mean are you pissed I helped take down your cult of crazy bastards, because that was sort of a group effort." he didn't say anything as he slipped his hand in his pocket and pulled out the flash drive.

"You didn't look at this yet." he said as fact, not a question. "It's loaded with encrypted files that you would've had no problem taking down. It's strange, I would've guessed you wouldn't be able to wait to see why we were so invested in you and your parents."

"Maybe I didn't want to end up here." Katie replied. "I thought if I ignored it long enough, it would just go away, but here I am, so lets stop the pussy footing around and put the cards on the table. Why the fuck am I here!"

"Your mother." Garrett spoke and that seemed to be the answer she least expected. Katie closed her eyes and turned away. Garrett watched her closely, noticing the change after the mention of her mother. "I think I've hit a nerve." Katie's eyes snapped open and she glared over to the man. "I think you met a couple of friends of mine in a Laundromat." Each word was hitting her like a sack of bricks as pieces to a puzzle began falling into place. "Now my German friend answers to higher power that even I haven't come in contact with, but our goals are all the same. Mommy."

"My mother is dead." Katie said and Garret noticed the slight twitch in her fingers and the darkening of her eyes. She was angry and he was just pushing her buttons.

"Well that's what the death certificates says and that's what a medical examiner said and a bunch of other documents and testimonies, but they're lying and I think if you're honest with yourself, you'd be able to admit it. Your mother's as alive as me and you and I need you to tell me where she is."

"My mother's buried in a cemetery in Denton Montana, right next to my father." Katie spoke her voice growing colder.

"That's what you keep saying, but hell I don't know what it is, but I just don't believe you." Garrett said taking a few steps toward her and Katie pushed herself from the wall. "Did ole Marty ever tell you any stories about mommy." he chuckled to himself as he moved closer to her. "C'mon Chambers, I think you know that there isn't an ounce of a chance of you leaving this room alive if you don't tell me what I need to know."

"I guess today is the day I die." Katie said taking a step closer to the man closing the distance between them. "But you damn well better believe I'm going out fighting." her fists clenched at her side when suddenly the door once again swung open.

"Sir," Ward's voice called, but Garrett never broke eye contact with the woman. It was the look in her eyes that actually intrigued Garrett. It actually made him smile. She had the heart of a soldier, that much he could gather. But he would expect nothing less from the child of Martin Chambers.

"Did you know that your father and I were actually good friends once upon a time." Garrett said and if possible, Katie's eyes darkened even more. "Before he figured out the truth of course, we were friends. Hell, I was even at his wedding to your mother. It was a small ceremony, just a couple of people." Garrett let out a long sigh. "It would actually hurt me to have to hurt you, but I will Chambers, and I'll make every hit, punch and kick count until I get what I want."

"Sir," Ward said again, his voice portraying nothing but warning. Garrett finally turned away from Katie to look to Ward. "A word." Garrett turned back to Katie and gave her a slight nod before turning and walking out the door. The moment the door closed behind him, Garrett collapsed, Ward catching him instantly. "I knew you going in there was a bad idea."

"She would've made the perfect soldier." Garrett said as Ward began helping him walk. "She had promise, and now she's going to have to die."

Coulson and his team, Clint included had long figured that Garrett was headed to Cuba, if not already there. Plus there was a very disgruntle call from Tony verifying their findings. Once they had a location, they were on their way. The flight was long and exhausting, but everyone knew what was at stake. Once the plane landed, there was no time to rest. There was a mission and that's was the main priority. They were unloading the plane when an unexpected guest walked up.

"I can not believe it." Fitz said being the first person to see the new face. He nudged Simmons in her shoulder. "Look who’s here." Simmons turned and her eyes went wide.

"What do you think he's doing here?" Simmons whispered as the others turned as well.

"No idea."

"Who is that?" Sky asked totally lost at the moment.

"Agent Mason." Coulson's voice said laced with slight annoyance. "Not that I'm not ecstatic to see you, but what the hell are you doing here?"

"Well I got a call sir." Mason replied slipping off his sunglasses. He turned to see May and Clint walking over, the latter looking none too pleased. "Agent May, Agent Barton."

"Cut the crap Mason, what the hell are you doing here?" Clint asked, the annoyance clear and blatant.

"Like I said, I got a call and since I wasn't too busy at the moment, I thought I'd take the time out to save the day again."

"Who called you?"

"My good friend Matt." Rick said with a smile before walking around them toward the plane. "He said the dickhead-" he glanced over to Clint. "Which I'm guessing is you, lost our favorite worm, again." Clint took a step, but May caught his arm. "So I thought I would come to help."

"Thanks, but no thanks. Get lost." Clint said.

"Wait," Coulson said and they all looked over to him. "We could use all the help we can get and at the moment any resources are needed resources." Coulson turned to Mason. "You will listen and you will not speak unless spoken to, do you understand Agent Mason?"

"Yes sir," Rick replied before turning and climbing on the plane to help unload.

"I think even I might try to kill him." May commented turning to Coulson.

"I guess we will all just have to control our urges." Coulson said looking over to Clint. "And work together. We all want the same thing and we don't get it unless we're all on the same page. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," Clint replied before going back over to the van to finish retrieving the rest of their supplies.

"Those two never did play well together." May said looking over to Coulson.

"Well now they have shared interests." Coulson replied. "A shared goal is the one thing that puts petty differences aside." Coulson took a step forward. "Alright, everyone gather around." everyone walked over for their directions. "Because we had to fly in low, we have to search for our plane on the ground. Fitz, Simmons, you have the maps. Do not engage under any circumstances. If you find the bus, call us and stand down or come back here and wait." Couslon turned to Clint. "You go with them and if for some reason things get sticky, well unstick them."

"Understood." Clint said tossing his bow and arrow sack over his shoulder. He turned to Leo and Jemma. "Let's go brains." he turned and walked off.

"We still don't like being called that!" Leo commented as he and Jemma followed.

When placed in a situation where there seems to be no way out, one must say "fuck that" and find a way out. Those were Martin Chamber's words verbatim once again playing in Katie's head. She sat in the windowless room staring at the door trying to think up a plan. And that's when it hit her. The only way out was through that door and that door only opened from the outside. She'd have to get someone from the outside to come in. She closed her eyes and stood to her feet as she brought a hand to her throat and began gasping quickly and loudly. She stumbled to the door and began pounding.

"Something's..." she gasped and weezed. "Something's wrong, I can't breathe." she suddenly stopped hitting the door and stepped away dropping to her knees. "Please-" weeze, gasp. "Help me." and with that she fell to the floor.

Two guards standing outside the cell, whose sole purpose was to watch the security footage inside the room, watched in panic at the woman who was lying unconscious on the floor. They shared a look before one of them stood to his feet and rushed to the door. The other stood and quickly followed grabbing his arm.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing, if she dies on our watch, Garrett will kill us."

"And if we do the one thing we're specially not suppose to do and go into that room, then we're dead."

"Not if the reason we're going in there is to save an asset. You know how important she is."

"You don't even know how important she is. No one knows why she's even on this plane or what Garrett wants with her."

"Well if she's still alive, then it's for a reason."

And with that the guard turned and entered the unlock code to the door, his partner behind him. One of the guards quickly kneels beside her placing a finger on her neck.

"She has a pulse," he said looking to his partner. "I don't know what's wrong?"

"Really, because I do." Katie spoke and the man turned back to her, just as she snatched the side arm from his waist and before jumping to her feet. The other guard took out his gun and shot, but Katie quickly moved behind his partner, using him as a shield. Soon one of the guards was falling to the floor, filled with bullet holes. The perpetrator looked distraught at his partner before bringing angered eyes to Katie. He lifted his gun once again about to shoot, just as Katie lifted the stolen gun. One shot rang in the small room, but only one person was hit.

Jemma and Leo stood hidden as they watched their plane out on the airfield. Their mission was only to watch and not engage, but that was something that was proving difficult.

"I know we're not supposed to engage." Simmons said turning back to look at the plane. "But if they get away, we'll be back to square one. I can't handle square one again." Leo looked over to the plane with his binoculars, spotting a familiar face.

"Garrett's there, which mean's Ward's there." Leo replied.

"Which also mean's there's a good chance that Kat's in there too." a voice spoke and they turned to see Clint. When they arrived, he immediately went to find a good vantage point. The plane was filled with Garrett's men, which meant a rescue mission would be next to impossible. But nothing was truly impossible.

"Coulson said—"

"I know what Coulson said, but if that plane gets away, there's a chance that I may never see her again. That's not happening." Clint replied

"Wait, what if we sent a dwarf into the plane from here?" Jemma suggested, noticing the slight shake of Clint's head. "It's a bug that can stow away inside so we can track where the bus is going. We won't lose her." Clint walked over to the window and looked out to the plane. She was right there and he couldn't stand being this close and not being able to go to her.

"We can send sleepy, he's a good listener." Leo added. "I'll go out to the car to get it." Leo turned, but Clint caught his arm.

"How about I go to the car to get it. " Clint said before walking toward the door, but stopping immediately when someone he didn't expect walked in.

"Long time no see guys." Ward greeted looking between his old friends before his eyes landed on Clint. "I should've known you wouldn't be far behind once we took your girlfriend." Clint took a step, but suddenly two more men appeared behind Ward each with a gun aimed right for the archer. "Like I said, I knew you wouldn't be far behind. Well since you're here, might as well come say hi." Leo and Jemma walked over closer to Clint.

"It's alright guys." Clint said not taking his eyes off Ward. "We're gonna be alright." Ward simply chuckled before walking off. "We're gonna be alright." and so they followed.

The smile Ward was wearing soon fell the moment he stepped onto the plane to see everyone running around. He quickly grabbed one of the guard's arm, stopping him.

"Hey, what's going on?" Ward asked and the guard simply nudged his head for them to step away from prying ears. Clint watched them closely as they spoke.

"What do you think is going on?" Jemma whispered. She looked up to Clint who was smirking. "What?"

"They can't find Kat." Clint muttered seeing the anger washing over Ward's face. Ward shook his head before walking back over. "Everything alright?" Ward ignored him as the guards pushed them to continue.

Katie pressed her back against the wall, a gun held tightly in her hand. The plane was swarming with Garrett's men, and they all seemed to be looking for her. She looked up and spotted a door, and at the moment she needed a place to hideout until she could figure out her next move. Inside was one of the control centers. Katie placed the gun aside and quickly began typing. There was commotion outside, and she turned toward the door.

"Let us go!" a familiar voice called.

"No," Katie whispered before grabbing the gun and moving toward the door. She pried open the door slightly and peeked outside just in time to see Leo and Jemma being pushed down the hall. "Shit." Without thinking Katie swung open the door and walked out, making sure her gun was held high. "Let them go you bastards!"

"Katie!" Jemma said about to go over to the woman, but one of the guards grabbed her.

"I think you should know, I'm ten shades of pissed right now and have a good vantage point to shoot you and your partner here before either one of you could even tell me your name."

"Listen bitch—" before the man could even finish his sentence, Katie had already pulled the trigger, sending a bullet right on the side of his neck. He released Jemma, stumbling back as he held his bleeding neck. Katie turned to the man holding Leo.

"Your turn." the man holding Leo was visibly nervous, shaking even. "Let him go." he hesitated for a moment before pushing Leo away and turning and running. Jemma and Leo ran to hug Katie. "We have to find a way out of here."

"We can't," Jemma said pulling back. "We—"

"I want to just kill you." a voice said and they all turned to see Ward stalking over to them angrily. "I want to just kill you and rid the world of your every growing tendency to be a pain in my ass." Katie pushed Leo and Jemma behind her and held up the gun. "Because then, I think despite what's happening, the world would be a better place."

"I think you've confused you with me in that sentence Ward." Katie replied. "We want off this plane."

"Sure, whatever you want." he said before taking a step, and just that quickly Katie had pulled the trigger, a bullet grazing the side of his cheek. The man grunted as he took a couple of steps back.

"You see that was what you called restraint, because a couple of more inches and I could've rid the world of one more psychotic HYDRA member."

"You also could've rid the world of your boyfriend." Ward said lifting his eyes back to her. "I take it from the look on your face that Pip and Dip here haven't told you yet." Katie looked between Jemma and Leo before turning back to Ward.

"What is he talking about?" Katie asked feeling her heart pounding in her chest. "Where's Bart?"

"Aww, how sweet. You still use that little nickname." Ward replied reaching into his pocket and pulling out a tablet. He swiped a couple of times before turning so Katie could see. Katie looked upon the screen to see what looked like a live video feed of Clint bound and gagged with the barrel of a gun to his head. "Put down the gun Kate, because I think we both know you're not going to use it. Not if you ever want to see Barton again."

"Fine," Katie said still gripping the gun she had pointed at him. "One condition, you want me, you let all of them go."

"What are you doing?" Leo whispered. "We're not leaving you."

"Yes you are." Katie said looking over to him and giving him a look to show that she knew what she was doing. She turned back to Ward who simply shook his head. "That's my terms."

"You think you have the upper hand here?"

"I think you and your messed band of brothers really want to know where my mother is and at the moment I'm the only key you have. Let them go and I tell you everything you want to know."

"I wish I could believe that," Ward replied just as two heavily armed men walked up behind him. "But I think I have more leverage. Because you see even though the great mind of the infamous Sparrow is a very intricate place, there are times when it's predictable. And your friends, your Bart, they're your weakness. And I know your daddy taught you about weaknesses." Katie stared at him for a while, long and hard.

"Alright." She said with a nod as she stretched her neck. "Guys, run!"

"What-"

"Now!" she ordered and without anymore questions, Leo and Jemma turned and hauled ass.

"Get them." Ward ordered and the armed men began running toward Katie, without hesitation, she pulled the trigger. Only twice. One bullet hitting one of the men in the foot, knocking him down. The other shot the man in the knee. He was also down for the count. All that was left was her and Ward.

"My daddy taught me a whole lot." Katie growled through clench teeth. "I think it's time for that fight I might not win." and without a second thought Katie went running toward the man at full speed.


	18. Chapter 18

Punch, kick, scratch and bite. Was it dirty? Hell, maybe, but if you were still breathing afterwards, then who cares?

Katie and Ward were rolling around on the floor, each getting a couple of jabs in. The strength difference was evident in every punch Ward threw versus her own, but she didn't stop and she definitely didn't plan to give up now. Grant had knocked her on her back and was now straddling her waist, pinning her arms above her head.

"You're feisty Kate, I give you that!" he huffed through his jagged breath. "Too bad—" Katie kicked a knee up, hitting the man right in the groin. He groaned rolling off of her, falling on his back as he held his sore privates.

"Too bad you talk to much." Katie said pushing herself to her feet. She reached for her discarded gun fully prepared to do what she should've done so long ago, but as soon as she did felt a sharp prick right in the back of her shoulder blade. She turned around just in time to see the blurry figure of John Garrett.

"Sorry sweetheart, we're on a tight schedule." Garrett said. Those were the last words she heard before the darkness overcame her. Garrett looked over to Ward who still lied on his back in pain. "I'm not even gonna say how disappointed I am in you." the man shook his head.

"Sir—"

"Get up and find the other two before my plans are totally destroyed!" Garrett ordered and without hesitation Ward jumped to his feet, despite the pain and ran in search of Leo and Jemma. Garrett glanced back down to Katie before kneeling down and brushing a finger across her cheek. "I think I still want you. You're just too good to waste."

_The wind was tickling her cheeks so much that she couldn't do anything not to smile. A young Katie skipped through the wild flowers happily. She'd never been anywhere so big. All she wanted to do was run around._

" _There is no other way!" she heard her father yell and Katie instantly stopped and turned to see him and the lady talking, but neither looked happy. "Do you know what we're doing, this plan, it's— "_

" _I know!" the lady snapped. "I know what this does to us and what it does to her, but that does not mean that she can't have a chance. A chance at a real life."_

" _They won't let that happen and you know it. They're not going to stop and she's going to have to be prepared and it is going to be my job to do it."_

_The woman turned and looked to Katie and it was then that the young girl noticed the tears falling down the lady's cheeks. Not knowing what else to do, Katie ran over and wrapped her arms around the lady's legs._

" _Don't cry." Katie whispered and that seemed to make the lady cry more. The woman knelt down and wrapped her arms around the young girl's small frame, pressing a kiss to her cheek._

" _I love you, know I love you more than anything in this world." the lady said before pulling back so her eyes were on the young girls. "I know this makes no sense to you now, and you probably think mommy's being silly, but if you know nothing else, know that everything mommy and daddy will ever do, what we've ever done has been because we love you and we wish more than anything for you to have the perfect life that you deserve." She pressed another kiss to Katie's cheek before pulling her into another tight hug. The sound of a car horn, made the woman cry even more._

" _Cindy," Martin said, but the woman didn't let go. She continued to hug the girl, not wanting what was about to happen, to happen. "Cynthia, it's time."_

" _I can't do it Martin." Cynthia sobbed as she picked the small child in her arms and turned to Martin. "Don't make me do it, don't make me leave her." Martin dropped his head, the emotions inside of him fighting with each other, but he kept it together, like he was taught._

" _Remember, this is for her." Martin said placing a hand on the woman's cheek. "Sometimes pain is necessary for us to move forward." Cythina stared at him long and hard as he asked her to do something that felt worse than cutting her own heart out. "I will take care of her, but you can't—" he shook his head. "You've been here too long, and cold trails can get hot and they can't find you. You know that." the woman simply nuzzled the young girl's hair as she gently rubbed her back. The sound of a horn honking once again brought the woman back to reality, back to this moment. "Cin, it's time."_

Katie's eyes opened, but the moment they did, she almost wished they didn't. The light hurt, and she quickly closed her them hoping that would help. Only moments later did a sudden realization hit her. Something wasn't right. With her. She couldn't explain it, but something felt off inside of her. She once again opened her eyes and that's when she noticed how it was gone. The focus she'd tried so hard to hold onto was gone. She blinked a couple of times, hoping, no praying that it would come back to her, but it didn't. Her eyes drifted downward and that's when she saw the clamps over her wrists. They were attached to the chair she was sitting in. She pulled at them weakly, barely moving them. She felt the same on her ankles as she tried to move them only to realize she couldn't.

"You know we had to rack our brains with this one." a voice said, for some reason sounding louder than it should. "We've put you in scenario after scenario and you've found a way to escape each time." Ward's face appeared in front of her, his scarred and battered face holding a smile she wishes she could wipe off. "Then Garrett came up with this brilliant idea. I mean we tried tying you up and locking you in a room. We were trying to bind you physically, but the truth is as long as those neurons are still swirling around in that noggin of yours, you would always be a threat. And that's what we had to change."

"What did you do to me?" Katie said, her voice heavily slurred. She continued blinking, hoping at some point whatever was happening to her would just go away.

"Well since you're not working with a full deck at the moment, I'm going to keep it simple. I've taken away your spark Sparrow. That brain of yours was the only true weapon you had and now thanks to a simple injection, you no longer have that." he walked over and knelt down so he could meet her glazed eyes. "Get comfy Kate, because this is the state you're going to be in until we need you." and with that he stood up straight and walked out of the room, leaving Katie in her state of what could only be described as utter delirium.

There was an annoying piano playing in the background of the restaurant Tony currently found himself. He'd been there for nearly a half and hour with Pepper and her parents engaged in wedding talk. At times he wondered if they could see that he wanted to be anywhere else. His phone was sitting in front of him and he couldn't stop glancing over to it every chance he got.

"Tony!" Pepper's voice nearly yelled tearing him from his head. He looked up to her to see an expectant look on her face. Did she ask him something?

"I'm sorry, were you saying something?" Tony asked and he noticed the slight look of concern pass along her features.

"Where are you tonight?" She asked and he simply shook his head.

"I"m here, I'm here." he replied plastering on a smile before turning to Pepper's parents. "Have I told you what a wonderful daughter you've raised. Honestly I don't know what I would do without her."

"Well I'm glad to hear you say that" Pepper's father replied. "The only thing I ever wanted for my little Virgie was to one day find a man who would love her the way she deserves to be loved." the man smiled over to his daughter. "And my little girl deserves nothing but the best."

"Oh, daddy." Pepper coos before smiling over to Tony. He smiles over to her when his phone suddenly beeps and as if a fire had erupted in his pants the man had jumped to his feet. "Tony, what's wrong?"

"I've just been expecting this call."

"Well can it wait, we're at dinner."

"I know, I promise to keep it quick." Tony replied before grabbing his phone and heading for the door before she could even say another word. "Barton!"

 _"No, it's me._ " Matthew answered. " _So I'm guessing you haven't heard anything either?"_

"No, look I'm sure-"

 _"Don't say you're sure of anything, because you're not!"_ Matthew snapped.

"No, I'm not and it's taking everything inside of me to not jump on a plane and go find her, but I can't!" Tony snapped. "I have to believe that she wouldn't get somewhere without being able to get out of it."

" _And I want to believe that my sister isn't in danger right now, because whether you believe it or not, there is a chance she won't make it. And I assumed since all of you did some sort of secret handshake to be the Avengers, that in the event that one of you needed help then the rest would be there. Especially since...since if the tables were turned, she would be there for you. Hell, a couple of years ago she was. You don't want to help my sister, fine. I will do it myself." And with that the young man hung up._

"Matt!" Tony yelled after hearing click of the call ending. "Matt!"

"Tony!" Pepper's voice yelled and Tony turned to see the woman standing by the door looking over to him, totally confused. "Will you tell me what is going on?" Tony opened his mouth fully prepared to tell her that he needed to go, but before he could even speak a new voice interrupted.

"I'm sorry," Tony and Pepper turned to see Maria Hill walking over, her cell phone in hand. "I knew you guys were having dinner and I really needed to speak to Tony." Hill looked over to Tony and he simply nodded.

"Yeah, apparently congress is really pushing for access to our files, spouting some crap about National Security after this whole HYDRA thing." Tony said before looking over to Maria. "She just thought it might be a good idea to get the lawyers up and running to nip this thing in the bud." Pepper looked between Tony and Maria.

"I was in the neighborhood and thought I would run some things by Tony, but if now is a bad time—"

"No," Pepper interrupted. "If it's important then it's fine." She turned back to Tony and placed a kiss on his cheek. "We'll be inside waiting for you," Tony nodded before watching the woman turned and walk back into the restaurant. Once he couldn't see her, he turned to Maria.

"Agent Hill," Tony greeted as the two walked over to each other. "This is a surprise. What are you doing here?"

"Well I am here to come up with a plan for this whole congress thing, but I figured at this point you'd be aware of the whole Sparrow issue."

"Do you know where she is?"

"Well I guess thanks to your little tracking device, her location is known."

"But?"

"But I believe a retrieval plan is still in the works." Maria saw the disappointment in his eyes as he shook his head. "Whatever you're thinking, just don't." He looked back over to her with a raised eyebrow. "That's also why I'm here. You need to stay here. There is already a team working tirelessly to help Barton find Sparrow, but you going there-"

"Will show how incompetent this team is who haven't found a way to save her yet?" Tony asked with huff.

"No, you being there draws attention and you more than anyone is being watched like a hawk." Maria replied glancing over her shoulder. They were practically obvious. The agents planted to look like civilians moving about the street around them. "Plus you risk so much more if you go looking to play the hero. She already has one of those and I'm guessing he's doing everything possible to get her to safety, if that's needed."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, Sparrow is rarely one who chooses to play the damsel in distress. So right now I'm asking you to put your faith in people who want her safe just as much as you do."

"I doubt anyone wants her safe more than I do." Tony muttered turning away from the woman. "Forty eight hours." he looked back to Maria with a look so serious that it cause even her to stand a little straighter. "I hear her voice in forty eight hours or me and whoever is following me are going to get her. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Maria said stuffing her hands in her pockets and giving him a nod.

"I think you should know I'm not the only one you should worry about. Matthew he's—" Tony shook his head. "He's worried and I think we're about to see a whole different side to him."

"It's being taken care of." Maria replied simply.

Matthew rushed through his apartment, tossing things into a duffel bag, his phone held between his shoulder and ear.

"Yeah, no that's perfect. I should be there in twenty. Thank you, you have no idea how much you're helping me right now." Matthew said before hanging up the phone and looking down to it for only a second before tossing it on the coffee table. He turned and headed for the door before pulling it open only to stop before even stepping out. "Ninja lady, didn't expect to see you here."

"Well I got word that some stupid bastard was about to go off and make a lot of noise that we can't afford to have." Natasha said before taking a step forward causing Matthew to take a step back. She slammed the door behind her.

"Didn't we do this dance already. I could've sworn it ended with you landing on that sweet ass of yours." Matthew said and Natasha smirked. "I think you should know that nothing is standing in the way of me getting to my sister."

"And I think you should know that I'm the one thing that's going to make that statement a lie" Natasha replied.

"Don't do this, because this takes time I just don't have."

"Too bad, because if you want to play this game then you're going to have to prove that you can take the punches that are coming your way. Your sister is currently in the custody of highly trained and some genetically modified soldiers who would have no problem breaking you in half."

"Is that suppose to convince me to stay?"

"No, it's suppose to convince you that this fight you're itching to be apart of won't be a fight. You see a fight is something that occurs between two equally matched individuals. You going in there isn't a fight, it's a joke."

"You underestimate me ninja lady." Matthew says taking a dangerous step closer to the woman, closing the distance between them. "That could be the biggest mistake you could do. You have no idea what I'm capable of."

"I think I do Special Agent Black." He didn’t expect her to call him that. Mainly because he thought that was a secret that he was keeping well.

"How-"

"Because even though SHIELD is gone, doesn't mean intelligence just stops. Your sister-"

"My sister is the only thing I have left, so spare me." he moved to go around her, but she moved to block him.

"Your sister is not in danger."

"Bullshit!" Matthew scoffed. "My sister hasn't returned a single call I've made to her. That only happens when she's in danger. So give me something else."

"Fine, your sister is probably the unsafest person in the world right now, but what I am sure about is that she is alive. And as long as she is alive, she will continue to fight. You going on some shit to the wind mission to save her will only make things a lot harder for a lot of people." Matthew didn't say anything. Natasha watched him, knowing he was probably weighing his options. He turned back to her before tossing his duffel bag on the floor. "Smart choice." she turned and headed for the door.

"Wait!" he called after her and she stopped and turned back to him. "Agent Black is dead, has been for a while now and that's the way it stays."

"Who am I to raise the dead?" Natasha replied with a slight smirk. "Your secret is safe with me. I'm just not sure how long it'll last. Your sister's really good at figuring out puzzles."

"She's known me practically my whole life and never suspected anything. I'm just her screw up little brother who she found living in the basement of strangers. That's it."

"Maybe, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. Secrets never stay hidden for long." And with that Natasha turned and walked out of the apartment.

Clint had been moved from room to room, a barrel pointed at his face at all times, but it was nothing he couldn't get out of. He'd already thought of an escape plan, but he did nothing until he knew where Katie was. The plane slightly shakes, and Clint look to the window to see land.

"Agent Barton!" John Garrett says annoyingly happily as he strides into the room. Clint noticed before how the man's whole demeanor had changed. At one point he seemed like he was getting weak, slower and then the next he seemed to be given a new breath of life. He was stronger and it showed. "I know you're probably wondering why you haven't been killed yet, and it's a really good question." Garrett walked over to the archer. "You're my bargaining chip. You see Sparrow won't whistle a tune unless she has some...motivation. You're going to be that. And while you're in our custody, some friends of mine are going to poke around that head of yours. I mean a living victim of Loki's mind fucking is like hitting the jackpot. I'm actually kind of disappointed Fury didn't do more with that, but hey there's no time like the present." Garret looked to the guards standing behind Clint. "There are men waiting outside, they'll show you where you can hold him." One of the guards grabbed Clint's arm and pulled him to his feet.

"Where is she, you son of a bitch!" Clint snapped trying to pull free, but the guard held him back.

"Oh, Agent Barton, our dear Sparrow is some place nice and safe." Garrett said adding a slight chuckle that only made Clint feel uneasy. "Get him out of here." and with that Clint was moved off of the plane. The moment his feet touched land, his eyes went to the building standing in front of him and the giant letters reading, "CYBERTECK" sitting high.

She was being wheeled somewhere. That was the only thought in Katie's head. At the moment, only one thought at a time seemed to be all that she could accomplish. She'd been moved from the chair to some sort of gurney, where she was once again strapped down at her wrists and ankles. Her eyes were barely opened as she looked up to the faceless people who were moving above her, until it seemed all at once they were just gone. Katie laid there alone, unsure of pretty much everything at the moment. Something moved and she noticed it out the corner of her eye. She turned slightly and saw something move again, but it was too blurry to see it clearly.

"Who...who's there?" she managed to speak. Whoever it was, moved closer to her until they were standing right above her. She blinked in hopes to make everything clearer. She didn't expect it to work, but after a couple of times soon it was clear. She saw him as clear as day standing above her, smiling. "Daddy?"

" _Hey there darlin," Martin spoke. He looked around the room before looking back down to Katie. "It looks like you've gotten yourself into a bit of a pickle."_

"Understatement." Katie muttered.

" _So how do you plan on getting out of it?" he asked._

Coulson and his team had their plan in motion. They'd went to Cuba and found Garrett's Havana hideout where they were attacked by super soldiers. They weren't a match and after Skye retrieved the information needed from the hideout's computer, they were back on their plane.

"The trojan horse worked. It gave us access to the system we wanted." Skye said looking down to her computer. "Our secret weapon ... we now have eyes on their operation right in the palm of my hand."

"We'll need more than eyes to defeat Garrett." Tripplet said as May patched up his shoulder that was wounded in the fight with the super soldiers. There was a beeping sound and they all turned to see a somber looking Coulson walking toward them.

"What's wrong?"

"Fitz-Simmons' tracker crossed the ocean." Coulson says. "It's in New Mexico."

"They managed to tag the plane?" Skye asked.

"It appears so, but they're not answering." Coulson replied.

"Shit!" Rick snaps before punching a nearby wall.

"No." Skye says the thought that Jemma and Leo could be dead too much for her to handle at the moment.

"We can't think like that right now." Coulson said.

"When should we think about it?!" Mason snapped and they all turned to him. "You should've sent me, not Barton to surveil that damn plane. He's too emotional right now and it got the best of him."

"We don't know what the circumstances were-"

"It doesn't matter what the circumstances were because he should've planned for them all and you know that!" Mason almost growled.

"Hey!" May said taking a step in front of the man. "Right now we know nothing so there will be no overreacting on a limited amount of information."

"May's right. Fitz and Simmons risked a lot getting those trackers for us." Coulson said. "Now we know exactly where Garrett is, and Skye can see what he's doing. If Fitz, Simmons and Barton are still alive, then the mission's the same. We want to find them, we want to find Sparrow, then we find Garrett." he looked over May. "We need this plane in the air, now." She nodded before heading back to the cockpit. There was a beep that came from Skye's computer and they turned to her. "What is it?"

"I don't know, it seems to be some distress signal." Skye replied as she began tying away. "Oh my God," she looked up to Coulson. "It's from Katie." Coulson quickly moved to the woman's side and looked down to her screen. "The time stamp on the message seems to be hours ago, I don't know why I'm getting it now."

"What does it say?" Coulson asked and Skye looked back down to her computer.

"Wait, it's—" Skye leans in closer to the screen. "It was made to look like a distress signal, but it's actually an embedded Trojan horse." she types a few more keys and her eyes widen. "It leads to the Bus's mainframe." Skye lifts her eyes back to Coulson. "We have their intel right here. Coulson this could change everything, if we know what they're planning—"

"Stopping it will be that much easier." Coulson said before looking over to Mason who still didn't look happy. "This is good, this gets us closer."

"It all gets us closer, sir." Mason replied defiantly. "Just never close enough."

Katie looked up to the obvious illusion created from whatever drugs Garrett had given her. But illusion or not, she still smiled.

"Hi daddy."

" _Oh, darlin', you have to get out of here."_

"I can't," she said with a shake of her head. "There's no way out of this."

" _Now I know I taught you better." Martin said bringing his face closer to hers. "What did I say about a no win situation?" Katie closed her eyes tight. "What did I say!"_

"There is no such thing-"

" _Louder!"_

"There is now such thing as a no win situation!" Katie said her voice going to a level she didn't know she could achieve at the moment. "I can win at anything I put my mind to!"

" _That's right, now open your eyes." Katie complied and he was still there. "How do you get out of this?"_ Katie drowsily turned her head trying to get a good look at everything around her _. "C'mon darlin', pay attention. The answer is somewhere, now find it!"_

"I'm trying, I'm-" and there it was. A medical tray, which held an array of medical tools right next to her bed.

" _That's it." Martin's voice spoke suddenly appearing behind the tray. His eyes on the scalpel, Katie too had noticed. He suddenly looked back over to her. "No time to dally, act first, think later." he once again appeared over her. "Move!"_

Clint was walking down the hall of the building, two guards behind him and two in front. All had a gun, but only two were pointed at him at the moment. He finally got to the moment where he couldn't play the captive any longer. If he was here, then he was sure Katie was somewhere nearby.

Suddenly Clint tripped, the wall beside him catching him before he could hit the floor. He stopped closing his eyes as his head rested on the wall.

"Keep moving!" One of the guards snapped giving him a push. It wasn't a very forceful push, but it somehow knocked him on the floor. The guards each shared a look before looking down to the man who laid there seamlessly unconscious.

"What the—" one of the guards stepped forward and the moment he did Clint kicked out a leg causing the man to fall to the ground, his gun firing a few unintentional shots that distracted the other guards long enough for him to jump to his feet, leaning his arms as low as necessary for him to jump over them and bring his hands in front of him. There was no time to stop and think because the moment his hands were in front of him, the other three guards were already pointing their guns at him. Clint looked down to his foot to see the unconscious guard and his discarded gun. With a slight kick of his foot the gun went flying up in the air, high enough for him to catch it and shoot two of the guards. The third had him. Gun aimed and with the pull of the trigger, he'd be gone. There was a gun shot and Clint closed his eyes. After a few moments he heard a loud thump and opened his eyes to see the guard falling to the floor, a bullet hole in the back of his head. Clint lifted his eyes and there standing at the end of the hall was Rick freaking Mason.

"Aw honey, you don't look happy too see me." Rick said walking down the hall toward Clint who bent down to grab the keys to the cuffs. Once his wrists were free he looked to Mason who was still looking to him.

"What?"

"I just saved your life and you can't even muster up a 'thank you'?" Mason asked and Clint simply grabbed one of the guards discarded guns and walked around the man. "There's no shortage on ungrateful people!" Mason groaned as he turned and followed after him. "I hope worm will have a little more manners when I find her." 

Soon Clint and Rick were running down the unfamiliar halls of Cyberteck, guns in hands. They only stopped when they came to a door that was slightly ajar. Clint pushed it open, making sure to keep the gun aimed. They walked inside to see a gurney turned over on the floor, but that's not what caught their eyes. It was the slight specks of blood that made Clint's heart start to race.

"God, Kat where are you?" Clint asked when the sound of gun fire pulled him from his thoughts.

"Looks like the party's started." Rick says and Clint turns to him. "Find her, I'll go back up Trip." Clint nods before doing the only thing he could think of doing. He ran and he was going to keep running until he found her.

Katie walked down the halls of the building, dragging herself along the wall as she keeps a towel pressed against her bleeding hands. The effects from the drugs seemed to be wearing off, but slowly and focusing was still a hard task to complete. She stopped and closed her eyes as the sound of gunfire sounded from somewhere around her.

 _"There's no time to stop."_ a voice said and Katie opened her eyes to once again see her father's smiling face. " _You got to get out of here._ " And so Katie's feet were once again moving. She didn't plan on stopping. Right now her only goal was to get out of here, but then she heard a familiar voice and she couldn't help but stop.

"When was the last time anyone saw a tag-team wrestling match with four dead guys?" John Garrett's voice said, a hint of amusement laced in every word. She was about to keep moving, but then she heard another voice.

"I only see one dead guy in here." She heard Coulson's voice speak. Katie dragged herself through the door, immediately seeing a body on the floor. She bent down and grabbed the man's side arm and gripped it as she kept moving.

"Oh, the power's all on this side of the room, fellas." Garrett replied and Katie stepped from behind a silo to see the man standing next to the man from before. Peterson she thinks he was called, in front of Coulson and the last person she expected to see. Nick Fury. " Phil, I'm surprised you'd try and stop course, I don't blame you, Nick. You haven't seen the big picture, the big bang, the timeless frozen ocean, but Phil here has. We share a bond. We're blood brothers." Nick looks at Garrett for a long moment before turning to Coulson.

"You didn't tell me he'd gone this crazy!" Fury says looking over to Coulson.

"He's really turned it up a notch." Coulson replied.

"I think that's putting it lightly." Katie said and they all turned to her to see he moving over to them, slightly slowly.

"Are you alright?" Coulson asked and Katie lifted her head sluggishly, but gave a smile.

"I'll be better once I'm out of here." Katie replies before turning back to Garrett. "I'll probably do a little jig once this son of a bitch is dead."

"Oh sweetheart I had so much planned for us." Garrett replied with a sadistic smile. "I could've made you great. I could've made you better than great." he looked over to Fury. "You remember that speech you used to give us, Nick, about how one man can accomplish anything once he realizes he can be something bigger?" Fury just gave him an annoyed look as he shook his head. "Well I am-"

"Wait, isn't it 'a part' of something bigger?" Katie interrupted sensing her brain cells were slowly but surely coming back to her. She looked over to Nick and Coulson. "I remember because that was one of the only speeches I actually liked." she turned back to Garrett.

"Is that how it went?" Garrett asked.

"Not a good listener." Coulson mutters.

"If you tell me this whole HYDRA path thing you took is because you misheard my damn "one man" speech..."

"I am the key to the universe-"

"You got it, right?" Fury interrupted as he looked to Coulson.

"Totally." Coulson says with a nod. Fury looks over to Katie who simply shook her head.

"Like I said, one of the few speeches I liked and listened to. I understood." Katie said as they all turned to Garrett. Katie looked down to her hand as it slightly shook. She stopped hearing the words around her and looked up to see Garrett's smiling face. The only peace she found was when Peterson lifted the missile launcher toward Garrett. There was a smile on her face when she saw the man shot and tossed to the ground. It made what was going to happen next that much easier. She could feel it, totally out of the blue. Everything slowing down and getting darker. Arms wrapped around her from behind and she turned just in time to see familiar green eyes staring back at her. It was that moment that Katie truly felt safe enough to give in to the needs of her body and just pass out.

_Cynthia held on tight to the young child in her arms as they walked around the house to see the black SUV parked out front._

" _Cindy, the longer you drag this out the harder it will be." Martin says and she turns a glare to him._

" _It doesn't matter how quickly we do this, it will always be hard." Cynthia replied before pressing a kiss to Katie's head before handing her off to Martin. "You better take care of her."_

" _You know I will." Martin says before leaning forward an placing a gentle kiss to the woman's cheek. "I love you."_

" _I love you too." she replies placing a hand on his cheek. She looks back down to her daughter and feels more tears threatening to fall if she doesn't leave soon. "This is killing me." she meets Martin's eyes once more. "Goodbye my loves." she gave one final look to her daughter before turning and stepping into the backseat of the SUV. Martin and his daughter stood there and watched as the SUV got farther and farther away until it was just gone._

_A young Katie lifted her head from her father's shoulder and looked at him in the eyes._

" _Don't be sad daddy. She be back."_

" _No, she won't darlin.'" Martin says before placing a kiss to her temple. "She won't be back."_

Katie's eyes snapped open and she quickly sat up, trying desperately to catch her breath as the fading memory of her dream played in her head. Clint was by her side instantly.

"Hey, you're alright." Clint said wrapping his arms around her. "I'm right here. You're safe now." Katie placed her hands on the sides of Clint's face and brought her forehead to rest against his. She could feel her heart slowing. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Katie replies. "Garrett?"

"Dead." Clint answers.

"Ward?"

"In custody, along with Garrett's super soldiers. They're all being deprogrammed." Clint says pulling back to look in her eyes. "How do you feel?"

"Tired." Katie replied. "What happened to me?"

"They injected you with a tranquilizer. Something Garrett cooked up to interrogate his targets. As it worked it's way out of your system, your body began to react, which is why you passed out. But it's out of your system now." Katie dropped her head and Clint could tell something else was wrong. "What?"

"Not that I'm not happy that Garrett is no longer a cancer to our planet, but I would've liked to ask him a couple of questions." Katie said. "The guys from New York, the Germans from the Laundromat, they're HYDRA. Garrett knew them. At some point during this twisted trip, he was going to question me about my mother." Clint looked at her for a moment before shaking his head.

"Doesn't matter now, because it's over. Garrett's dead."

"Bart-"

Katie was interrupted by the door sliding open and in walking the familiar face of Nick Fury. Clint turns, never taking his arm from around Katie.

"Sir."

"Barton." Fury says before turning to Katie." I was hoping to have a word with Ms. Chambers."

"I don't think that's a good idea" Clint says and Katie turns to him. It was rare to see Clint reject authority, especially from Nick Fury, but here he was. "She needs rest and—"

"Anything you want to say to me, you can say in front of him." Katie said interrupting Clint.

"Fair enough." Fury said before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the flash drive. "I found this on Garrett." he handed it to Katie who simply took it and looked at it for a moment. "I would advise you to keep that safe. There's very sensitive information on there that shouldn't get into the wrong hands." Katie nodded before Nick turned to leave.

"Wait!" Katie said before climbing out of the bed and standing to her feet. "That can't be it."

"I'm sorry?"

"I know you know what's been happening. My mother who I, along with the rest of the world, was made to believe is dead has somehow created a following, even after death." Katie said.

"I don't know what you're asking me."

"My mother, is she still alive?"

"All records on one Cynthia Chambers note her as being deceased."

"That's not what I asked you."

"But that's all I have." Fury replied. "But you have that." he pointed to the flash drive in her hand. "Use it." And with that the man turned and walked out of the room. Katie stood there for a moment before turning to Clint who looked obviously confused.

"What's on the flash?" Clint asked and Katie looked down to it and shrugged.

"No idea." she replied before slipping it in her pocket. "I'm not sure if I want to find out."

It was late when Coulson had the plane make a stop. They landed just outside of Florida. Fury had long gone, disappearing for what many assumed would be a long while. There was a car waiting for them. It wasn't fancy or anything, but it wouldn't draw any attention and at the moment that made it perfect. Clint had finished packing their things in the trunk when he walked over to Katie who was saying her goodbyes. She was currently hugging May who looked slightly uncomfortable, but didn't pull away.

"Oh Mellie, it's been fun." Katie said as they pulled away.

"Fun?" May asked with a quirked eyebrow. "I forgot you were the weird one." Katie simply smiled before turning to see Skye.

"You got my signal," Katie said and Skye nodded. "Not a lot of people would've decrypted something as sloppy as that."

"You say sloppy, I say brilliant." Sky says with a smiled before holding out her hand for Katie to shake.

"You know after these couple of days, I think we've sort of moved to the hugging stage." Katie said before bringing the woman into a hug. "Thank you for your help."

"I was just repaying the favor." Skye replied as they pulled apart.

"Make sure you keep me up to date with what's happening with Leo and Jemma." Katie said and Skye nodded. Katie looked to Triplet who simply shook his head. "What?"

"Before I met you, I had this idea of what you would be like in reality." The man said.

"And?"

"You're kind of better." he said and they just laughed. They slapped hands and pulled together in a hug.

"Am I going to have to wait until morning for my hug or should I just camp out here?" a voice said and Katie turned to look to Rick.

"You were supposed to ride off into the sunset with our former deceased leader." Katie said moving to stand in front of him.

"Well maybe I wanted my recognition for my part in saving the day." Rick said folding his arms over his chest. "I have of yet to hear a thank you and I don't appre-" Katie slapped a hand over his mouth to stop him from talking.

"Thank You Ricky." Katie said before dropping her hand. He simply smiled.

"You're welcome worm." Rick said before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a bear hug, even slightly lifting her off the ground.

"That's enough!" Clint called and Rick chuckled before placing Katie back on her feet and smiling over to the man.

"I'm gonna miss you too Hawk!" Rick called before turning to Coulson and giving him a nod. And with out another word, the man went walking off disappearing into the darkness.

"I'm not sure how he survived this mission." Coulson said. "I came this close to shooting him myself at least three times."

"I think I have you beat." May said before turning and walking back on the plane. Skye and Trip followed her, leaving Coulson, Katie and Clint. Clint gave Coulson a nod before getting into the car to give them some privacy.

"You sure you're alright?" Coulson asked and Katie nodded. "Because if you're not, you can-"

"I'm fine. A little purple and blue, but who isn't these days?" Coulson shook his head before letting his eyes fall back to her. "You're thinking about something director Coulson." the man smiled. He hadn't formally announced his new position, but did feel the need to tell her before she left. "What's up?"

"You were right, and I didn't listen."

"Don't." Katie said reaching out and grabbing his hand. "I was lucky. I saw a millions pieces to a puzzle that I couldn't get to fit together and so I took a wild guess at what the big picture was."

"You still were right." Coulson replied before bringing his arms around her. "Whether you know it or not, what you did saved a lot of lives. I just wished I would've believed you."

"Shoulda, woulda, couldas are in the past now." Katie said before pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Now we focus on the future."

"Speaking of the future." Coulson said as they pulled from the hug. "Rebuilding SHIELD is going to be a lot of work. I may need you."

"You may not. You have a capable team in there. People who are all brilliant in their own right." she looked over her shoulder to the car. "Plus I think this is a chance we should at least take advantage of. A life. One without SHIELD or or Agents, or the Avengers for a while." Katie smiled as she brought her eyes back to Coulson.

"So what you're saying is you guys really need a vacation?" Coulson asked and Katie just nodded.

"But you know we're not ones to turn down a request for help. You need me, us, then we will be there."

"Alright." Coulson pulled her into another hug.

"Two hugs in the span of a couple of minutes," Katie said hugging him back. "You're really gonna miss me, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I really am." Coulson whispered. "You should be careful."

"Oh I will and if I'm not I always have a hawk on my ass." Katie said with a slight laugh. She pressed a kiss to the man's cheek before turning and heading for the car.

"Stay out of trouble!" Coulson called after her. Katie simply looked back to him and gave him a wink before stepping into the car.

They soon ended up on a road with no intended destination. Katie found herself tucked under Clint's arm, her head resting comfortably on his chest.

"So any ideas for where you would like to go?" Clint asked and Katie glanced up to him.

"Not really. I think I'll be good anywhere I can find a Clint Barton." Clint smiled down to her before placing a kiss to the top of her head. "And a beach."

"Alright."

"It's not a must or anything, but a beach would really be good."

"I get it Kat."

"I mean any place would be good, but I would really like a beach."

"Kat?"

"Yeah?"

"Stop talking."

"Fine." she sighed as she closed her eyes and nuzzled against his chest. Clint glanced down to her, tightening his arm around her.

When Fury had named him the new director, and handed him a Tiny box, Coulson was completely confused. It was a job that he would give his all to do correctly, but he knew it would be tough. He was glad he was at least given a starting point. Another secret base, the Playground as it was named, where they could plan and figure out the next move. It wasn't until late one night did the cube that the director gave him begin to glow. He was half asleep and thought he may have been dreaming as he reached over and grabbed the cube. Suddenly coordinates appeared. He quickly grabbed a pen and paper and wrote them down. He looked them up, they weren't that far from where he was right now.

The next morning before his team had even awaken, Coulson jumped into a car and drove to find where these coordinates lead. He'd been driving for a few hours when he happened upon a gate. A part of him was wishing he'd brought back up, but the other part of him knew that any direction given from the box was probably meant for him. He pulled up to the gate to see a speaker box. He rolled down his window before reaching out and pushing the call button. There was no immediate answer, but soon a distorted voice did speak.

"Can I help you?"

"Uh, I'm not sure." Coulson said letting his eyes scan over the area. "I was sort of told to come here."

"Told by who?"

Coulson turned back to the speaker and looked at it for a moment. A sudden thought crossed his mind and at the point he would just try it.

"Nick Fury." Coulson replied. No one said anything after that and he was beginning to get nervous. Suddenly the gate parted for him to enter. Taking that as the only invitation he was going to get, Coulson lightly hit the gas pedal and drove inside. Past the tall trees was a large farm it would seem. Coulson spotted the large house within moments of coming through the gate. It didn't look like something SHIELD would be into, but then again he stopped believing that he knew SHIELD like he thought he did. The first person he saw was a woman bent down, digging in a garden. The moment his car stopped, so did she and she stood to her feet and turned to him.

"Can I help you?" the woman called and Coulson simply stepped out of his car. The woman seemed to look him over before looking back to his face for an answer. "What are you doing here?" Coulson looked at the woman for a moment unable to not see a slight resemblance in her features. He took a step forward and she in turn took a step back. "Will you say something, because you really are freaking me out." They both turned at the sound of the screen door slamming shut. Coulson just stood there frozen as he watched a man who shouldn't be walking toward them. "Do you know what's going on?"

"I think I do." the man said coming to stand next to he woman. Coulson simply stood there looking between the man and the woman, when it suddenly hit him like a sack of bricks. "So I take it you're Nicky's replacement?"

"Oh," the woman said turning back to Coulson with a smile. "Why didn't you say so?" Coulson didn't speak. He couldn't actually form words at the moment. "Is something wrong?"

"I think he didn't expect to drive in here and see two dead people." the man said. "I guess this is your operation now. At the moment we're dead to the world. No one knows-"

"Somebody does." Coulson interrupted before turning to the man. "Somebody knows and they're targeting her because of it." the man and woman both stared in confusion. "What the fuck, how are neither of you not dead!"

"We'll get to that later." Cynthia Chambers said taking a step toward Coulson. She snapped her fingers in front of the man's face as he seemed to glaze over.

"Cindy-"

"Oh, shut it Martie." Cynthia replied before turning back to Coulson. "Right now I want to know who hell is after our daughter?"


	19. Chapter 19

There, sitting on a tree limb was a small sparrow. It was strange, as it stood there, unmoving from it's perch, it's eyes focused on something out of range from the window. Katie tilted her head and smiled slightly as she rested her chin on her arms staring out to the bird.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Smith," a voice said interrupting her bird watching. She closed her eyes for a moment at the sound of her alias name before sighing loudly and turning back around to the man who sat with a note pad in his lap and his glasses hanging on the tip of his nose. "I do not believe you pay me to look out my window."

"No, I don't believe I do." Katie said crossing her legs and smoothing out the yellow sundress she was wearing. It was her way of avoiding another one of the good doctor's questions. Something she did a lot when he poked to deep.

"I asked you about your parents." he said and Katie lifted her eyes to him.

"Why?" she asked and he knitted his eyebrows in confusion by the question.

"You've been here for one month and we talk about music and food, but nothing personal. Never anything personal. You're practically paying me to be your friend."

"I doubt that, I actually like my friends."

"Then why are you here? What's the point if you don't like my questions and you don't like me obviously. You could save yourself a lot of money and save me a lot of time if you just stopped coming." the doctor stood to his feet and walked around the couch to his desk.

"Lenny—"

"For the love of-" the man whipped around. "How many times do I have to tell you, it's Dr. Samson. I'm the doctor, you're the patient, you need to recognize that this isn't a social visit. This is you seeking help or at least trying to but for some reason you just won't let yourself."

"Dr. Samson, I'm—" Katie shook her head before standing to her feet and turning to him. "I'm here because I made a promise to my brother. If he were to talk to someone, I would too and since he's held out this long then I have to do the same."

"You can't do this, come here because of someone else. You have to want to come here, because if you don't then it's pointless." Samson said before taking a seat behind his desk.

"You're right." Katie said walking over to sit at the chair in front of his desk. "My parents are dead. Mom died during child birth and dad died in a fire. That's all I know and all I care to know."

"That's kind of cold. They are your parents."

"Yes they were, but now they're not anymore. Now they're just gone." Katie replied before glancing up to the clock. "And that's our time for today." she stood to her feet.

"You always do that." Samson said and Katie quirked an eye brow. "You wait until the last few minutes of our session to drop something like this on me so I can't poke at it."

"Well write it down Dr. Samson." Katie replied turning and picking up her bag from the couch. "Maybe I'll show up tomorrow and you can ask me about it."

"You always say that, but then you always show up."

"Maybe one day I'll surprise you." Katie said giving the man a nod before walking out the door. She waved to his secretary before stepping onto the elevator. The doors were about to close when a man slipped on with her. She subtly inched away from him before reaching forward to press her floor. She looked over her shoulder to him. "Which floor?" he looked over to her, giving her a good look at his pale skin and receding hairline. He looked at the buttons.

"Same," he muttered and Katie could've sworn there was a bit of an accent there but she didn't dwell. She just took a step back and looked up to the decreasing numbers.

The moment the doors slid open, she was the first to step off. She only glanced over her shoulder once to see the man as he stepped off the elevator and turned in another direction. It was silly really, for her to feel suspicious about the strange man. She shook it off before pushing through the front doors to get outside. The moment she stepped outside, the warm breezed tickled her skin. But it wasn't the weather that brought the smile to her face. It was the man who was waiting for her, just like he always was. He was standing there leaning on the side of their pale blue pick up truck wearing a muscle hugging black t shirt and a pair of black shorts. His once short and neatly kept hair was now shaggy and blowing in the wind. No one would ever guess that the man standing there waiting for her use to be a secret agent. She walked down the steps toward him, seeing a bright smile on his face.

"So how did it go today?" Clint asked grabbing her hips and pulling her to him once she was in reaching distance.

"Same ole, same ole." Katie said wrapping her arms around his neck. "He asked questions, I evaded them, he got frustrated, so I tossed him a bone."

"This is crazy you know that. Going to therapy out of some twisted game between you and your brother."

"Well I made the promise and he knows that I'll only go if he goes." Katie said letting out a sigh. "I just didn't think he would last this long."

"You guys are so weird." Clint said before pulling her closer to him and bringing his lips to hers. The kiss only lasted a few short moments, before a gagging noise pulled them a part. They both turned to see a familiar gang of kids walking down the sidewalk.

"Get a room!" one of the boys called.

"We will after we stop by your parents house to let them know where their brats are when they're supposed to be in school." Katie said turning to them.

"Good luck with that." the more verbal of the boys said. "Today's a holiday."

"What holiday?" Clint asked.

"President's day." he replied proudly and both Katie and Clint erupted in laughter. "What's so funny?"

"President's day is tomorrow, you demon child." Clint said and the group of children shared a look. "I'd get home before your parents today squirts." without another word all the kids went running in different directions.

"President's day is today." Katie said shaking her head at Clint.

"I know," he replied before walking over and pulling her into another kiss. "I can't stand that kid." Katie simply chuckled before they both stepped inside of the truck. "So what do you want to do first?"

"Feed me first, and then groceries." Katie said. Clint simply nodded as they pulled off. She never could quite describe it. The feeling she got as she looked out onto the place she now called home. She expected Clint to bring her to some deserted island where they would live off the land, instead he brought her to a small island town. Ashhurst it was called and it was quite beautiful. They'd only been here for a couple of months, already made a couple of friends. This place was starting to feel like home. Clint pulled into the parking lot of a familiar diner.

The ring from the bell on the door signaled their entry. The place wasn't too crowded which was always a good thing.

"I'm going to run to the restroom." Katie said placing a kiss to Clint's cheek. "Order me anything." Clint nodded before watching her turn and hurry off. Clint found them a booth toward the back and was sitting when the waitress came over with menus.

"Well if it isn't our resident mystery man." the woman said sitting the menus down. Clint sat back in his seat and folded his arms over his chest as he smiled up to the woman. "Where's your better half?"

"Bathroom." Clint said glancing down to the menu. "And it's good to see you too Jenny. You look nice today."

"Ah, don't even try it Danny. Dinner, my house. I'm nosy, so come over already." Jenny said with her hands on her hips. "You two have been in town for months and no one knows anything about you. There's even rumors going around that you two are on the run from the fuzz." Clint let out a snort. "I know the imagination in this town is laughable. You two are good people, I know that. But give me something."

"Fine, I'll talk to Anna and we will get back to you." Clint said. The woman simply smiled before turning and walking away. Clint shook his head before picking up his menu and looking it over. He'd been reading when he heard the bell from the door. His eyes glanced up for a second before looking back down to the menu, but he stopped and looked back up. Two men, both about 6'5, one blonde, the other brunette. He watched as they walked to a booth at the other end of the diner, his eyes going to their shoes. "Shiny." he muttered, not surprised how often he transitioned back into agent mode. Katie walked over and taking a seat across from him.

"You order anything yet?" Katie asked grabbing one of the menus and picking it up.

"Nah," Clint said glancing over her shoulder to the men who seemed to be trying extra hard not to look in their direction. "You know I was thinking we just take this to go." Katie looked over to him from over the menu.

"I thought being seen and out and about was how we blended in." Katie whispered as she sat down her menu. "We can't stay cooped up in the house. People are already talking about Anna and Daniel Smith, the couple who spends all their time at home and only comes out for food and therapy." Clint shifted in his seat, glancing over to the men once again, this time one of them meeting his gaze.

"I just really want to get home." Clint replied looking back to Katie who still looked confused. "It was a long day at the shop." Upon arriving to their small town, Katie and Clint quickly set up the illusion of normalcy. Clint got a job an auto shop, while Katie worked part time at a library. At the moment they really needed distant from their past lives and as luck would have it, things were working out.

"Fine," Katie sighed lifting her menu once again. Once their meals were packed up and ready to go, Katie and Clint headed back out to the truck. Clint cast one find glance to the men in the corner of the diner before leaving. "Did you hear me?" he turned to Katie who was looking at him. "What's up, you're being weird."

"Just tired, did you say something?"

"Yeah, I said what about groceries? Our kitchen is totally nearing barren." Katie said as they hopped into the truck.

"We'll go in tomorrow. I got the day off and your boss hates you so—"

"That old hag hates everyone. Just me in particular for pushing a more modernized filling system."

"Not everyone wants a computer Kat." Clint said and Katie cast a glare his way.

"I get that, I really do, which is why I'm not pushing it any more."

"Don't sneak in computers or she'll kill you." Clint said and Katie looked at him with wide eyes. "That's what you were thinking, weren't you?"

"No," Katie said unconvincingly as she turned around, folding her arms over her chest. Clint simply chuckled before pulling off.

Whatever mood she was in, Katie always found a smile whenever she saw their house. The quaint little place that sat off from their own little part of the beach. It sat in the middle of a large piece of land and there weren't any neighbors for miles. As they were walking toward the door, Katie glanced up to the setting sun.

"What are you smiling at over there?" Clint asked and Katie looked over to him.

"I'm liking this life we have going here." Katie said wrapping an arm around his waist. Clint pressed a kiss to her her forehead before opening the door. The moment they walked in, Clint disabled their security system. Katie's phone vibrated just as she was slipping off her shoes.

"Just like clockwork!" Clint called as he headed to the kitchen with their food. Katie simply chuckled before bringing the phone to her ear.

"So have we decided on a date yet, Mr. Stark?"

" _Are you going to ask me that every time I call?"_

"Well as your best woman I think it's only fair to know when I should get to work." Katie said as she plopped down on the couch letting out a deep breath. "And I would figure after a year of wedding planning, a date would apparate at some point."

" _Hey, I'm ready whenever Pepper gives the go ahead. But her and her mother are busy planning the wedding of the century."_

"You should talk to her."

" _And tell her what? That I just want to get this over with? That I'm seriously ready for her to be my wife?"_

"Yes, yes and uh yes. Pepper's planning her dream wedding and I know the inner workings of a woman's mind. Nothing will ever truly be perfect so talk to her and finally get this show on the road. I mean I could've gotten married by now." she threw that in unintentionally, but found herself curious as to what he would say. Tony was silent for a moment before letting out a laugh.

" _Yeah, like that would ever happen. I know you wouldn't deny me the chance to talk you out of such a travesty."_ Tony replied. _"Plus I'm sure Matt would tear you a new one if you ran off and got hitched without him."_

"How is my little brother these days?"

" _He's fine. Pretty good PA."_

Ok, now the truth."

" _Fine, is an awesome PA. He ridiculously good at his job and my biggest fear is that he will realize it and leave."_

"He probably already has, but given the choice of having to do a real job, versus hanging out with you I think he'd rather fetch your coffee."

" _Whatever the reason, I'm grateful for my little Mattie."_

"Has he asked you to adopt him yet?" Katie asked unable to not laugh. "He seriously wants a new last name and he mentioned that he was going to ask you to adopt him. He said he was joking, but I think it was serious."

" _No he hasn't said anything, but it could have untold benefits_." Tony mused and Katie could practically hear the wheels in the man's mind spinning. " _I could see it now-"_

"Don't see it. Pepper won't let it happen and I won't blame her." Katie replied turning just as Clint came walked back into the room. "The warden has returned and is telling me that my phone time is up."

" _Tell bird brain that he's not the boss of you."_ Tony said and Katie chuckled. " _Tell him that we have to discuss important stuff."_

"But we don't. We never do. We spend a vast amount of time discussing nothing vaguely important. Yesterday we debated pepsi versus coke and the day before I was up all night listening to you rant about Steve Jobs."

" _Never mention that name in my presence._ _"_ Tony countered.

"I have to go. I'll talk to you later." Katie ended the call and looked over to Clint who was wearing the usual sour expression he seemed to take on after one of her calls from Tony.

"Everyday that man calls. Everyday another man calls my woman and do I complain?"

"Yes."

"Do I make a fuss about it?"

"Every time."

"Nope, and yet it still annoys me." Clint says as Katie stands to her feet and saunters over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"You know your mouth is moving, but all I hear is blah, blah, blah-" she erupted in laughter as Clint began tickling her, before tossing her over his shoulder. "You're going to regret this later."

"I'm looking forward to it." Clint said adding a smack to her butt before turning and walking into the kitchen.

The next morning started just like every other morning. Clint was the first to wake up, Katie's body wrapped around him. He placed a kiss on the crown of her head before slipping out of bed. It had become a sort of ritual. He would get up, check the house and then step outside. He knew Katie was getting use to this life. He knew that she was trying her hardest to make this her life and to forget all the bad parts of the past one, but no matter how much he wanted, he knew that wasn't possible. He knew that their lives were never truly their own and knew that somewhere in the world were people who still wanted her.

For the first couple of months they moved around a lot. They never stayed at one place too long, but then one day they arrived in Ashhurst and they couldn't bring themselves to leave. It was something alluring about the small, quiet town that they couldn't bear to leave. And it was the smile that he would see on Katie's face that would tell him that this was all worth it. Clint stood on their porch, inhaling the ocean air when a familiar chill ran down his spine. He subtly let his eyes scan the area, and stopped when he thinks he sees something in the distance. Squinting his eyes as best he can, Clint tries to make out what he sees.

"Bart!" he hears Katie call and turns to the house before turning back. He shakes his head, figuring he was just overreacting. It wouldn't be the first time he thought he saw something or thought they were being followed and it turned out to be a fluke. The hardest thing about all of this was turning off the agent inside of him that was telling him not to trust anyone. Telling him that danger was lurking around every corner. The sliding door behind him opened and he turned to see Katie, wearing nothing but his t-shirt. "There you are."

"Here I am." Clint said grabbing her hand and pulling her to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and brought his lips to hers. "How did you sleep?"

"Better," Katie replied lying her head on his chest. "But I doubt it will last. At least that's what all the books I've read say."

"Yeah, well today will be a good day." Clint says placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. "We probably should head to the store, you were right. We're running dangerously low on food."

"I told you," Katie said before smacking his arm and stalking back into the house. "I'm going to get dressed so we can just get it out of the way and beat the crowds."

Never in a million years would they see themselves doing something as normal as getting groceries, but here they were. Katie pushed a cart down the aisle, Clint right behind her, his hands holding on to her waist as they walk.

"I think we have every—" Katie peeked inside of their cart. "Wait, eggs." she looked over to Clint. "Wanna grab some eggs and I'll meet you in line." Clint nodded before placing a kiss on her shoulder. Katie smiled as she watched man turn and hurry off. She continued down the aisle before spotting saltines. "I almost forgot these." Katie walked over and stood on the tips of her toes to reach the box that sat inconveniently on the top shelf. She almost had it when someone from behind her, reached over her head grabbing the box.

"Let me get that for you." a familiar voice said and Katie froze. She closed her eyes and shook her head. She had to be imagining things. There was no way that he was standing behind her. Katie took a deep breath before turning around and flipping open her eyes. The moment she did, she nearly toppled over. "Whoa, there worm," Rick Mason said dropping the box and grabbing her to keep her from falling. "I know I'm ridiculously handsome, but don't pass out on me." Katie met his eyes before pulling herself from his grasp. "I know what you're thinking."

"I doubt that very much."

"Look we wouldn't be here if we didn't have a good reason," Rick said taking a step toward her, only for her to back away. "And I know you and Barton are living the normal, and we would've let you if we didn't think your quiet life was about to get a whole lot louder." Katie looked at him for a moment before something hit her.

"We?" she asked. "You keep saying we, who else is here?"

Clint looked at an array of different brands, types, hell even colors of eggs, stumped at which one to choose. A week ago, this would've been simple, but today. Today he found himself actually thinking.

"I'd get the organic ones." a voice said from behind him A voice that even after a whole year he could never forget. Clint slowly turned and there standing was the face of an old friend he hadn't seen in a year.

"Nat?" Clint asked his face mirroring his confusion. "What-"

"I'd love to do this whole deal with you, but we don't have time." Natasha said. "Three o'clock. Two males, both packing. I just don't think they’re residents of sweet ole Mayberry." Clint turned his head slightly to see the faces of the men from the diner, both stood as if looking down at produce, but both glanced in their direction at the same time. "And it would seem they brought a pal. Nine oclock." Clint turned slightly in the direction to see that there was another man, dressed in all black trying his best to blend in.

"I have to find Kat," Clint said turning back to Natasha. "Right now."

"She's taken care of." Natasha replied turning to her left.

"What the hell does that mean?" Clint asked glancing to the right to see if anyone was making a move.

"It means she's taken care of." Natasha replied already reaching for her gun that was tucked safely in her pants behind her. "I swear this little vacation has turned you into a norm."

"That was sort of the point," Clint said slight stretching his neck. "And this wasn't a vacation. This was supposed to be it."

"Well nothing ever happens the way we plan." Natasha said turning to him. "Like I didn't plan on a gun fight in the middle of crowded grocery store, but the mystery twins down there and their friend keep inching closer. You want a gun?"

"Fuck," Clint muttered turning to Natasha and holding out his hand. She reached down into her boot holster and pulled out a gun and handed it to him.

"Are you sure Kat's safe?" Clint asked and Natasha quirked an eyebrow in confusion. "Nat, it's important, just tell me." Natasha opened her mouth to reply when she caught a glimpse of movement from her left. "Shit." without another word spoken the two assassins each took a side. Natasha pulled her gun out and had it aimed to the two men on the left who were already aiming their weapons. Clint had his gun aimed at the one man on the right who'd just pulled out his own gun. The moment the sight of guns was finally noticed the entire store erupted in chaos.

Katie was standing in front of Mason when she heard the screaming. She quickly turned to see people running.

"Bart!" she called before taking a step, only to be caught from behind. She looked over her shoulder to Mason who held her firmly. "What the hell are you doing?"

"My job. Barton's fine, but I need to get you out of here!" Mason called over the screaming. Soon people ran down the aisle they were standing and Mason began pulling Katie in an effort to get out of the way. Katie turned in the man's grasp and attempted to pull free when the sight of someone walking toward them, a silencer aimed right at Rick's back. Without thinking Katie reached inside of Mason's jacket and grabbed his service pistol and shot the man coming toward them. More screaming and running followed as Mason turned just in time to see the man fall to the ground. "Nice shot worm." He grabbed his gun in one hand and took her hand with the other and began pulling her with him.

"I'm not leaving without Bart!" Katie said pulling out of his grasp and turning and running toward the end of the aisle. She came to a sliding halt when another man she didn't recognize appeared in front of her, his gun aimed right at her.

"Sie kommen jetzt mit mir!" the man's German accented voice growled telling her that she was to come with him. He only took one step before being shot right in the side of the head. Katie gasped taking a step back, when suddenly Clint appeared, a gun in hand. Their eyes met and they quickly ran to each other.

"Are you alright?" Clint asked cupping the side of her face. She was shaking slightly. That much he could feel. "Kat—"

"I'm ok." Katie replied quickly before wrapping her arms around him tightly.

"We have to go!" Natasha called and Katie pulled from Clint to look over to the woman. "This place is about to be crawling with every badge in town and probably the next one over, so we should probably disappear."

"Our place is on the edge of town, secluded. We can hide there until we can move out." Clint said.

"Move out?" Katie asked looking to him.

"Kat—" Clint was interrupted by the sounds of sirens. "We can talk about this later, now we have to go." he took her hand and pulled her with him, Natasha and Rick following close behind.

The moment they arrived back to the house, Katie pushed passed everyone running up the stairs as fast as she could.

"Ok, what's up with worm?" Rick asked walking in and plopping down on the couch. "You'd think she'd never been in fire fight before."

"Do not forget the number one rule of us working together," Natasha said glaring over to him. "No talking."

"I'm just sayin—"

"Well don't just say anything!" Clint snapped turning to the man. "Because what happened today, it—" Clint shook his head. "She needed this life and now it's gone." he turned to Natasha. "I thought there was an agreement in place. What the hell happened?"

"Well everything was going well. You had eyes on both of you twenty four seven. There were a few suspicious characters, but no one ever made a move. It was like they were watching you too, waiting for something. When nothing happened they began coming out of hiding. They were getting close." Clint's mind traveled to the day before at the diner. "And then more and more started popping up. They were planning something and from the looks of it, it was going to happen today at that store."

"Any idea who they are?"

"Best guess is HYDRA." Natasha replied. "They're still searching for Katie's mother and still think Katie is the key to getting to her. I guess they waited this long hoping that you guys would lead them to her and after a year they just got tired of waiting."

"What do they want with her mother?" Clint asked and Natasha sighed. "What?"

"I can't disclose that information." Natasha replied annoyance clearly in her voice. "I haven't been given the clearance."

"Who does?" Clint asked. "Coulson?"

"Coulson's the director of an "in construction" agency at the moment. He's doesn't have nearly enough resources to pull something like this off. He's making moves, but he's not the only one."

"So who's running the show now?"

"Honestly, I don't know." Natasha replied. "Fury hasn't been seen or heard from since the Garrett take down." she looked over Mason. "I've been forced with partnering with this poor excuse for a human being."

"Aw, Widow," Mason sighed placing his hands above his heart. "I love you too." Natasha shakes her head and turns back to Clint.

"We get orders of possible HYDRA members still out there. Yesterday we got a message about a rescue and retrieval. When I got the location I knew your little love bubble was about to be popped." she glanced toward the stairs. "There's a plane that will be here in thirty, you should go deal with that." Clint followed her eyes to the stairs and scoffed. "What?"

"That—" he stressed gesturing to the stairs. “Is my wife Nat." Clint said before turning and heading up the stairs.

"Damn!" Mason cursed before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a fifty dollar bill and holding it out to the woman. "I was sure she'd keep him dangling for as long as possible." Natasha shook her head before snatching the bill from his hand.

Clint opened the door to their bedroom, just as Katie was walking out of the bathroom, a towel in hand wiping her mouth.

"Are you alright?" Clint asked again. He knew he'd asked her a couple of times already, but felt he needed to keep asking her, because he needed to keep hearing that she was ok,

"No, I'm not alright!" Katie snapped tossing the towel onto the bed. "What the fuck was that?"

"They don't know anything definitive, but they're thinking it has to do with your mother." Clint said and the look in her eyes was enough to break his heart. "Kat—"

"So this is my fault?" she said with a shake of her head. "Our happily ever after was ruined because of me."

"Hey," Clint said closing the distance between them, and bringing his hands to her waist. "This is not your fault. None of this is."

"What now?" Katie asked bringing her eyes to his. The truth was, she knew what he was going to say. She knew what the next move was, but there was the tiniest hope that it wasn't so. She had the tiniest hope that she could hold on to this for a little bit longer.

"We have to go Kat," Clint said never letting his grasp on her waver. "But we will stick together, and we will have this again."

"Who are you kidding?" Katie said with a shake of her head. "This always happens. I think that I'm finally out, that I actually have a chance at a life that doesn't involve, SHIELD, or HYDRA, or my fucking parents. But I can't escape them. I can't run from them no matter what I do." Clint pulled her against his chest in a hug. "I'm going to change, you should pack us a bag and then we can go." She pulled away before rushing to the closet.

Natasha and Rick waited impatiently in the lower level of the house. They soon found themselves roaming around, glancing to the pictures that hung on the wall.

"They really were trying their best at it, huh?" Mason asked as he looked upon a picture of Katie and Clint. From the looks of it, they were standing on a boat, both holding fishing rods. Katie's rod held a large fish, whereas Clint had caught a small one. Both were smiling. All the pictures he'd passed, they were smiling...happy. "You sure this was the right decision?"

"You almost sound like you care." Natasha said leaning into to get a closer look at the picture that sat above the fireplace. It was their wedding photo. Katie was dressed in a white, flowy dress that stopped above her knees. Clint held her bridal style, wearing a black tuxedo. It was yet another picture of the pair smiling widely.

"What makes you think I don't?" Mason asked, his voice laced with the offense he felt. "We don't even know where these orders came from, so how can you be sure that we're even supposed to be here."

"I thought the whole shootout in the produce section would answer that question." Natasha replied turning to him. "Something was going to happen today and if we didn't show up, things could've gone a whole lot worse."

"Or things got bad because we showed up." Mason muttered turning back to the picture. "Hell maybe they'd still be living the life if you weren't so hell bent on getting them to come back."

"Did you really...you know what?" Natasha reached into her holster and pulled out a gun aiming it right at his head. "I think there was a casualty back at the store. Dear old wise cracking Mason didn't make it." Rick turned to her, a look of amusement on his face.

"You don't have the balls."

"Actually she does, we just don't have the time for her to prove it." Clint said rushing down the stairs, two black duffel bags in hand. He tossed one of the bags on the floor and walked over to a large picture of a boat that hung on the wall with the other. "How much time do we have?"

"Ten minutes." Natasha said putting her gun back in her holster. She looked to the stairs before looking back to Clint who pulled the picture from the wall to reveal a safe. "I knew you weren't a complete loss." Natasha and Mason walked up behind him, just as he opened the safe to reveal and array of different weapons and stacks of money.

"I guess nothing can kill the Hawk." Mason muttered gaining a glare from Natasha and Clint. "What?"

"When Kat comes down, you no longer speak, got it?" Clint ordered before turning back to the safe. "Anything out of your mouth will only upset her even more." Clint began removing putting the money and weapons inside the bag.

"When we leave this house, there's no telling how many will be on our asses." Natasha said and Clint simply glanced over to her. "She has to get over whatever this is and—"

"And what, get back to kicking ass and taking names?" Clint asked angrily turning to Natasha. "You don't get it, do you?"

"I'm sorry that your perfect life was disrupted by reality, but there's no changing it now. All that happens now is that we move and we can't do that with emotional people slowing us down. It won't work and you know it. She needs to get her head back in the game, because right now there's a target on her back."

"I thought my ears were burning." Katie's voice said startling them slightly. They all looked to the stairs to see her now dressed in dark jeans, with a leather jacket over her hoodie. "Don't worry Nat, I know where my mind needs to be right now."

"Like back at the store when you froze up?"

"Nat—"

"Bart, it's fine." Katie said walking down the rest of the stairs and moving to stand beside Clint. "She's right, I did choke and there is a reason for that. One I don't think I'm going to share at the moment, so how about we all just focus on getting—" suddenly the lights shut off. "Bart?"

"It could be the electrical box." Clint said. "It's been going in and out for weeks now."

"Yeah, but this just seems way too coincidental to be by accident." Mason said already reaching for his gun. Soon the dark room was illuminated by red laser dots that moved around the room.

"Everyone get down!" Natasha yelled and they all fell to the floor just as the house exploded with gun fire. Clint threw his body over Katie's as they awaited the end of the shots. After a few moments, they all laid in an eerily quiet room, feathers from pillows and papers blowing about. They all heard the sounds of distant voices, when the sound of propeller blades spinning hit their ears. "That's our ride, we have to move."

Clint lifted himself from Katie, before grabbing one of the bags and nudging for Mason to grab the other. They all quietly stood to their feet and quickly headed for the back door. Natasha took the lead, as she stood at the door, making sure it was clear. She spotted the large plane, just down the beach preparing to land.

"We're gonna have to run for it." Natasha said looking back to them.

"We don't know how many guns are aimed at our heads." Clint said reaching into the bag and pulling out a gun. "Someone needs to clear out the guns before we move out."

"This doesn't happen all that often, but I agree with Hawk on this one." Mason added. "There's no way we all make it down to that plane if there's dozens of men out there waiting for us."

"Fine, I'll go." Natasha started but was immediately cut off by Clint.

"No you need to get Kat to that plane and—"

"I was sent here to rescue you, I don't think that means sending the retired agent into the line of fire."

"Too late for that Nat, I'm doing this."

"Aren't you two cute." Mason muttered. "I think we all know who’s the best with the gun here. If anybody is doing this it's going to be the best." he turned and was about to head for the front door when Katie caught his arm. "Aw, are you worried about me worm?"

"No, there's just another option." Katie said and they all looked to her with confusion. "JARVIS!"

"Yes Katie."

They all looked up to the ceiling as if they would see the AI before their eyes went back to Katie.

"JARVIS is here?" Clint asked and Katie nodded. "This whole time Stark's watchful eyes have been here?"

"That's not what this is?"

"Really, because it seems you really can't seem to truly tear yourself away from that bastard. Hell he's probably watching us right now!" Clint snapped.

"I'm sure now seems like the perfect time for your little marital spat, but we're standing in the middle of a time bomb." Natasha said turning to Katie. "We're listening."

"Do you have your phone?" Katie asked and Natasha nodded before snagging it from her pocket and handing it to the woman. "Alright, everybody run?"

"What?" Clint asked the question they were all thinking.

"I said run to the plane, now!" Katie replied before turning and looking down to the phone. "JARVIS, I'm activating Operation Clear Motherboard." Katie said before typing a few keys.

"Are you sure Katie?" The AI asked and Katie turned to the others who watched her.

"Yes," Katie spoke before moving toward them. "We have to move now!"

"Kat, what's happening?" Clint asked.

"It found us and now we have to deal with it." Katie said sadly before turning to Natasha. "This place is set to explode in—"

"Detonation in sixty seconds." JARVIS spoke.

"We have to go, now!" Katie said. Natasha nodded once again taking the lead. Once she saw the coast was clear she ran out, her gun held high. Clint took Katie's hand in his, before tossing their bag over his shoulder and gripping his gun.

"Stay close to me, we're going to get out of here, ok?" Katie simply nodded and before she knew it, they were running along the sand. It wasn't long before gun fire erupted once again. Natasha, Clint and Rick all did their best to fire back. They were only halfway down the beach when the house suddenly exploded and all shots ceased. Clint and Katie stood there looking at their house...their perfect house, just gone right before their eyes.

"We have to go." Natasha said. And soon they were once again running, until they reached the plane. Once the plane was in the air and they were truly safe did they all finally sit. For a while the plane was excruciatingly silent. Natasha and Rick, both found themselves glancing over to Clint and Katie who sat across from each other, their eyes simply staring at each other.

"It's gone." Katie whispered over to Clint and that's when he saw the stray tear stream down her cheek. She pushed herself from her seat and walked over crawling into Clint's lap as he let his arms wrap around her. He sent Natasha and Rick a look for them to give them some privacy. Natasha simply nodded before standing and nudging her head for Mason to follow her.

It was rare that Katie cried. He could count the times he's seen her cry on one hand. It took a lot for her to give into that emotion, for her to let down that wall just a little bit more, just enough for people to see her so vulnerable. So as Katie wept on Clint's shoulder he knew that she was truly hurting. "I really wanted it."

"Me too." Clint whispered as his hands swept over her back in an attempt to sooth her.

Natasha arrived back alone to find Clint sitting with Katie asleep in his arms. He looked to her with a look of pure anger.

"You need to talk." even in a whisper, the seriousness was clear.

"I told you—"

"I know what you told me, but I don't believe you." Clint said before sliding from under Katie's grasp and laying her on the seat. He took off his jacket and placed it over her, letting his fingers brush a few strands of hair from her face before turning back to Natasha. "We need to talk." he pointed to the door that lead to a conjoining cabin. Once the two were alone, Clint turned to her. "What the fuck is going on?"

"I can not—"

"Nat, my wife just cried herself to sleep because her dream of a happy life just exploded right in her face." Clint growled taking a dangerous step closer to the woman. "And none of it started until you and Mason showed up. You are going to tell me something." the door behind them slid open, but neither turned away from each other.

"This conversation looks serious," Rick said looking between the two. "Should I even ask?"

"No!" Clint and Natasha say simultaneously.

"Why is my wife being hunted Nat, what did her mother do?"

"Like I said I can't—"

"Nat!"

"Will you listen to me!" Natasha yelled. "You think after all of this, after everything that I owe you that if I knew any more I wouldn't tell you? Whatever this is, it's being locked down tight and no one without clearance-"

"What clearance?!" Clint snapped. "There is no clearance, No SHIELD. There's us and our lives and right now it doesn't seem like we're in control."

"You're not the only one." a new voice says and they all turned to see a holographic image of Phil Coulson on the wall in front of them. "Barton, I know you're upset—"

"No, I'm angry as hell, sir!" Clint snapped moving closer to the projection. "I made it perfectly clear that if I was going to give you our location, that if anything was to pop up you were to inform me. Apparently something popped up!"

"I'm sorry Barton, we weren't aware of the threat level and wouldn't make a move until we did." Coulson replied.

"Mission accomplished. They were willing to kill my wife along with dozens of other civilians for what they think they know." Clint said. "Why do they think her mother is alive and why is she so important?" Coulson looked away for a second before turning back to the man.

"I'm sorry Barton I can't answer that." Coulson replied. "Right now all I can tell you is that Cynthia Chambers is dead and the people looking for her are on a ghost hunt."

"No one hunts for ghosts unless they have a reason." Clint said staring the man down. "What's theirs?"

"There's an investigation happening and at the moment with everything still surrounding the fall of SHIELD, that investigation will not be as...tight as I would like it, but given the circumstances I'm not left with a lot of options."

"What does that mean?"

"You didn't tell him?" Coulson asked looking between Natasha and Rick.

"I was going to wait until we got a little further and he couldn't make a run for it." Natasha replied.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm placing you and Chambers—" Coulson stopped and smirked slightly. "I mean I'm placing you and Barton in protective custody." Clint waited for him to continue, knowing he was going to hear something he didn't like. "And right now the safest place I'm comfortable with sending you is to the Avengers Tower." the moment the words came out of Coulson's mouth Clint was already shaking his head.

"Nope, anywhere, I will literally go anywhere else." Clint said. "You want to drop us in the Congo, fine, some bunker in the Alps, that's fine too, but do not place us with Stark."

"At the moment there are no other options. The tower has one of the best security systems in the world, plus Stark's tech will make the place practically impossible to infiltrate." Coulson said before lifting his eyes to someone else. They all turned to see Katie standing at the door, her eyes on the man on the holograph.

"Then we go." Katie said before looking to Clint. "Right now we need safe and if it's the safest then that's where we're going." he looked at her for a moment before nodding and turning back to the new director.

"I guess we're going." Clint muttered with a shake of his head.

"I would like a moment alone to talk with the director." Katie said and they all looked over to her before turning to the image of Coulson who simply nodded. Natasha and Mason walked back out the doors and Clint stopped beside Katie taking her hand in his and placing a kiss on her cheek before walking out the door as well. Katie looked up to the image as she walked closer, folding her arms over her chest. "Director Coulson."

"Don't—"

"How long have you been watching us?" Katie asked and he shook his head. "Since we left that airfield, hasn't it?" he turned back to her and folded his hands over the desk. "You had no intention of letting us just go, did you?"

"You don't understand."

"I think I do. I think with such titles as director comes the sense that you are in control of everyone's lives. We become the chess pieces that you move as you see fit!" Katie snapped letting out a huff as she turned her back to him. "We were happy, we had a house and we had friends and we were just—" her fists clenched at her sides. "Why can't it last?" she turned back to meet his eyes. "Why can it never last?"

"I'm sorry, I really am about everything that's happened." Coulson replied. "What I won't apologize for is the eyes that were placed on you, because without them you'd probably be dead or kidnapped or something else entirely. But if you want to know the truth, the reason it didn't last was because it couldn't. You can't start a new life if the old one isn't dead."

"I guess you're right." Katie muttered before turning around and heading for the door.

"Katie wait!" Coulson called and Katie turning back to face him. "It's not impossible. The life you want, the life you dream of having it isn't impossible. You just have to fight for it."

"I'm tired of fighting," Katie said with a shake of her head. "I can't fight anymore."

"Yes you can." Coulson said and Katie turned her eyes from him. "You've been pushed down too many times not to know how to get back up." Katie looked over to him and gave a small smile. "It's time to get back up."

"Yes sir, Director."

"Will you stop with the director, please?" Coulson said making Katie lightly chuckle. "I would love if at least one thing didn't change."

"Fine, uncle Phil," Katie said before giving him a wave. "I guess I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, oh and congratulations. You and Barton." Coulson said with a smile. "I always knew you two wouldn't do anything half assed."

"Well thank you," Katie said with a nod. "I should get back. Me and my husband have a lot to discuss. Me and the fact that I secretly implanted an AI in our house without telling him and the fact that he's been aware of your presence and didn't think it was something I should know."

"Oh the joys of marriage," Coulson deadpanned. "Good luck." and with that his image was gone.

"Luck," Katie sighed turning back to the door. "There ain't enough luck in the world."


	20. Chapter 20

"I shouldn't be upset!" Katie's voice carried through the large plane. Mason and Natasha sat trying their best not to eavesdrop, but the way they were yelling, it was impossible not to. "That's rich, I shouldn't be upset that my husband has been keeping secrets from me for the duration of our marriage."

"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black!" Clint's snapped his voice equally loud. "You've practically had Tony fucking Stark living under our roof, but did that come up in conversation? Nope!"

"You don't even know what you're talking about!" Katie snapped. "JARVIS being at the house in no way shape or form had any connection whatsoever to Tony. But all you hear is Tony and you become this jealous He-Monster and it getting annoying!"

Natasha and Mason share a look, both trying not to look too amused with the entire conversation. But as they sat there, they couldn't help the slight smiles on their faces. Katie and Clint were a married couple, fighting like a married couple.

"We're going to be landing soon, one of us should go shut that down." Rick said not making a move to stand. He looked at Natasha with an expectant look. "And since all anyone ever tells me is that my mouth will only make matters worse, I think it's only natural that you go."

"Not on your life." Natasha replied leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes in an attempt to get some rest.

Clint and Katie stood staring at one another, still very much upset with the other. At the moment both realized that each were partly wrong and should apologize, but neither wanted to go first.

"I should've told you about SHIELD." Clint finally admitted. "I wanted the happily ever after too and I wanted to believe in it, but I wasn't going to be ignorant to the fact that there were people out there still actively looking for you. And because of that your safety came first."

"Tony really doesn't know that I have JARVIS. He hasn't been spying on us or anything like that. The truth is JARVIS is an independent entity that Tony created and that I happen to think is remarkable. So sometimes when I'm bored I tinker with him just to see how far I can push him."

"So this was about JARVIS?"

"Yes, the non human, artificial intelligent computer generated entity." Katie said. "Tony would probably kill me if he knew I was messing with his AI without him. He lives for this kind of stuff, but I'm—" she saw the look in Clint's eyes and figured she should probably stop talking. "I'm sorry for keeping it from you. I know we're suppose to be all up front with the honesty now that I have your last name, so I promise to try harder."

"Me too." Clint says pulling her into his arms. Katie placed her hands on his chest and smiled up into his eyes. "That was like our first real fight as a married couple, huh?"

"Yeah, I'm glad it's over."

"Me too." Clint said before leaning down and pressing his lips to hers. Suddenly the fact that they had the room to themselves crept up in their minds and so the kiss lingered a little longer. Their hands began moving in places that only took them to places they probably shouldn't go on this plane, but neither stopped. At this point, their bodies had a mind of their own and they were just along for the ride. Soon Clint fell back into one of the seats as Katie straddled his lap.

"We should fight more often." he muttered against her lips as her hand trailed down his pants.

Natasha and Rick sat there for a few moments before they realized that the arguing had stopped.

"I guess they worked it out," Rick said looking over his seat to the door Katie and Clint had disappeared behind. "You think I should go give them the heads up."

"Sure, why not?" Natasha said not moving from her spot, her eyes staying closed. Mason looked at her suspiciously before standing to his feet and heading toward the door. He only made a couple of steps before something hit him. He grimaced before turning and heading back to his seat.

"You were really going to let me go back there, weren't you?" Natasha just kept her eyes closed feigning sleep. "You know if they've made up, they're probably making up." he stressed the last two words and Natasha let out a snort. "And here I was thinking we were friends."

"And why the hell would you think that?" Natasha asked.

"You know it hurts when you say stuff like that." Mason replied. "It almost makes me not want to imagine you naked when I shower." Natasha eyes snapped opened before she stood to her feet fully prepared to beat the crap out of him, when the door opened and out walked Clint and Katie. Clint was wearing a stupid grin, while Katie smoothed out her clothes, before running her fingers through her hair.

"Why is it that when you two are left alone, Mason always comes inches away from being murdered?" Clint asked as he and Katie plopped in their seats.

"Because he wasn't born mute." Natasha seethed before going back to her own seat. She looked over to Clint and Katie who were now staring at each other dreamily making Natasha roll her eyes. "You two are sickening, I liked it better when you two only secretly liked each other." The couple turned to her and smiled.

"So, did our invitation to the wedding get lost in the mail?" Mason asked. "I mean I thought we were friends"

"Why?" Katie and Clint both asked simultaneously.

"You guys suck." Mason said before turning to look out the window.

"There were no invitations because it wasn't planned." Katie said as Clint reached over and took her hand. "It was Clint's birthday and we went to Vegas."

"Please tell me you two didn't go to Vegas to get hitched." Natasha said her faced scrunched in disgust. "That's so—"

"Cliche? We know." Katie replied. "We didn't go to get married, we went to just have a good time. So we gambled, we got wasted—"

"There was a police chase, a pissed off clown and a crying hooker." Clint added with a shake of his head. "Hands down best birthday ever."

"To be fair the clown and the hooker were the same person and he forgot about the nun who really wasn't a nun." Katie said lightly smacking Clint's arm.

"Hooker clowns and nuns?" Mason asked turning back to them. "Huh, I really need to get back to Vegas."

"At what point during this epic night did a wedding happen?" Natasha asked pulling from the subject of hookers and clowns.

"We were hiding out on the roof of the Palm, and—" Clint's story was cut off by a phone ringing. Katie pulled her hand from his grasped and reached into her pocket to pull out her phone. "Like clockwork."

"It's not Tony, it's Bruce." Katie said before bringing the phone to her ear. "Dr. Green, how's it shakin?"

" _It would be better if you didn't call me Dr. Green." Bruce replied. "I was calling to see if you had any luck with those calculations I sent over to you."_

"Oh, right, yeah I did." Katie said running her hand through her hair. "They're good, but there's still that—"

" _Hole in the algorithm, I know. I was hoping you could spot what I was missing." Bruce said._

"I was going to look into tonight, but—" Katie glanced at the people surrounding her and thinking about what had transpired today. "The day got away from me. Look I promise to check it out as soon as I can."

" _No it's fine," Bruce said his voice clearly disappointed. "Thanks, anyway."_

"Bruce—" before she could say anything he had ended the call. "That's what I needed today."

"What was that about?" Clint asked.

"We're this close to figuring out Bruce's dehulking device, there's just a few more tweeks that have to be made." Katie said before turning to Natasha and Mason. "He didn't seem let on that he knew we were coming to the tower."

"That's because he doesn't." Natasha said. "No one does. Right now you're ghost, and in order to stay that way we won't give anyone any indication of where and when you're being moved."

Katie sighed sliding her fingers through her hair as she sits back in her seat. It was suddenly starting to hit her. The reality of the situation.

"This is it, isn't it?" Katie asked and they all turned to her. "There's no telling how deep these people span, and there's no reason to believe that they will ever stop looking for me, so this has to be it. This is my life now. I am to live like a hermit inside the walls of the tower."

"Pretty much," Mason said with a shrug gaining glares from everyone. "Hey, I know you guys like to put a positive spin on everything, but the pessimist in me has to think realistically. From what we know so far, HYDRA still has followers, and most likely people making the calls. Right now one of those calls is finding mama Worm, and they don't see that getting done by anyone else but you. If the bad guys want you and they want your mother then that's the last thing that's gonna happen. So if you're forced to live in the luxurious walls of Stark's castle, then that's what you're going to do." They all just stared at him for a moment.

"Isn't there like some rule about him not talking?" Katie asked.

The moment they arrived at the airfield in New York, Katie got nervous. She'd been gone for so long and really hadn't planned to return until the wedding. And when that day came, she at least wanted people to know she was coming. Now she was forced to just barge back into their lives, which she's positive won't go over well with some. Definitely won't go over well with Pepper.

She sat in the backseat of a black SUV, staring out at the tinted windows. New York was one place you could leave for months and years and return and it wouldn't change one bit.

Clint reached over to her lap and took her hand in his. She looked over and gave him a tired smile.

"How you doing?" Clint whispered and Katie shrugged.

"I'll be better when I'm out of this car and in an actual bed." Katie said before scooting over so Clint could wrap and arm around her and she could lay her head on his chest. "I just want everything to just stop for a little while."

"Done." Clint said before placing a kiss on her forehead.

When they arrived at the tower, Rick drove the SUV to the underground parking structure to avoid any attention. It wasn't until they were all standing in the elevator did Katie ask the question that was burning a hole in her skull.

"What do you know so far about these guys who are coming for me?" Katie asked and Natasha looked over to her.

"They're HYDRA, very bad. That's pretty much it." Natasha spoke, making sure to turn away.

"You're lying." Katie said with a furrowed brow. "You're—it's about my mother isn't?" before she could answer the doors had already slid open and Natasha was walking off.

"Look right now we're going to fill in Stark and the others," Natasha said before looking over to Clint. "And you guys can get some rest." Natasha and Mason turned to leaved when Katie took a step forward to grab the woman's arm.

"You know something that you should probably tell me." Katie stated and Natasha's face remained stoic as usual.

"I know a lot of things, Sparrow, I probably should tell you." Natasha said before turning and walking away. Mason stood there for a moment a look of confusion on his face before he turned and rushed off after the woman.

"C'mon, I'm sure there's a bed here waiting for you." Clint said grabbing Katie's hand and pulling her with him.

Natasha and Mason rode the elevator in their usual silence. The latter found himself glancing over to the woman ever so often.

"There's something you want to say?" Natasha asked obviously annoyed.

"There's probably a lot of things I should tell you." Mason said turning his body to her. "What the hell was that?"

"None of your business, so drop it." Natasha said keeping her eyes trained on the elevator door.

"Well that was a lot of information you just volunteered. I think the last thing you want is for it to be dropped." Mason replied just as the elevator doors slid open to Tony's lab.

Tony and Bruce were so focused on their work that they barely heard the elevator doors open. They turned clearly confused and surprised at the two faces.

"Isn't this a surprise." Tony said walking over to the pair. He glanced over to Natasha and gave her a nod. "Spider ninja." he looked over to Rick. "Person whose name I don't care to remember. So what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well we're here on assignment. Your tower is to be used as a safe house for two targeted citizens until further notice." Natasha said and Tony tilted his head slightly trying to tell if she was joking. "Any questions?"

"Just one, and it's not really a question. It's a refusal, bye!" he said before turning and heading back to his work.

"Don't you think you should at least hear her out?" Bruce asked looking over to Natasha and Mason who looked tired and beaten up. "They obviously came to you for a reason."

"Well I'm rich, handsome and extremely smart so it draws a lot of people." Tony said as he went back to the hologram where he began swiping. "Doesn't mean I have to comply." Natasha let out a deep sigh before taking a step forward.

"JARVIS, could you show Mr. Stark the current location of that nifty tracking device he's having you monitor?" Natasha asked and Tony stopped what he was doing and turned to her. They stared at each other for a moment as Tony searched for the truth in the cold, stern eyes of Natasha.

"JARVIS, do it." Tony ordered and soon a blinking dot appeared on the screen. That blinking dot just happened to be right on top of the tower. Without another word Tony turned and headed for the elevator, but Natasha took and side step to block him. "What happened?"

"They were found," Natasha said. "Same people as before we believe."

"The people who are looking for her mother?" Bruce asked walking over as well.

"Most likely." the woman replied turning back to Tony. "At the moment this is the safest place for her. She needs to stay here until the threat is eliminated."

"However long that might take." Mason added gaining looks from everyone. "Look the gist of the matter is, Worm stays here. Worm doesn't get hurt. Worm gets hurt, I hurt people." he looked over to Natasha and smiled. "And that's never a good ending to any story, right?" Natasha rolled her eyes before turning back to Tony and Bruce.

"Look, until we find out something, she has to say here. Will that be a problem or should we make other arrangements?" Natasha asked. Bruce and Tony shared a look. Everyone in the room knew what Tony's answer was. So when Tony turned back to Natasha, it came as no surprise of what he said when he opened his mouth.

"Don't be an idiot," Tony said. "She stays for as long as she needs." Tony tried to side step her once again, but Natasha moved again to block him. "Ok, this was cute in the beginning, now it's annoying, move."

"That's not happening." Mason said and Tony looked over to the man.

"And why not?"

"Because we're not finished." Natasha said. "You're being brought in on this."

"Brought in on what?" Tony asked.

"The investigation into Cynthia Chambers. At the moment it isn't top priority, but it is important and it was requested that you, Dr. Banner assist Katie and Barton with the investigation."

"I would rather not." Banner said raising his hand.

"He's doing it." Tony said before turning back to Natasha. "So am I, we're going to need whatever leads you have."

"Already done." Natasha said.

"Sir, I have an incoming file transfer from an unknown source. Should I accept." JARVIS asked and Tony simply squinted his eyes at the woman.

"You're good Spider ninja. Download them JARVIS." Tony answered before narrowing his eyes at the woman. "You're not telling me something. What is it?" Natasha simply shook her head before turning and heading to the elevator. Tony watched her before turning to the man who hadn't moved.

"Mason," Rick said suddenly. "Or Rick, either one will be fine Mr. Stark. You should learn my name because we're going to be seeing an awful lot of each other." And with that the man turned and ran to slip onto the elevator.

"Just when I was getting used to the lack of excitement around here." Bruce muttered before looking over to Tony who seemed lost in thought. "Hey, what are you thinking about?"

"I should see her." Tony said before walking over to the elevator.

"Or here's a plan, how about not!" Bruce called and Tony looked over to him. "Maybe you should go let your future wife know about the new guests in the tower." Tony simply nodded before turning and stepping onto the elevator.

"JARVIS, open the files that were just sent over." Bruce said turning and heading back to the computers. "Maybe there is an upside to this." suddenly files began appearing on the screen. "We can finally figure out the mystery of Katherine Chambers."

Clint laid in bed beside Katie who instantly went to sleep the moment she laid in the bed. He figured she was tired after the events of the previous day. Her head rested on his chest, as her body wrapped around his. He was used to it by now. They didn't have sides of the bed, because they were usually on whatever side they found the other.

"Agent Barton, Mr. Stark is outside your door." JARVIS informed.

"Tell him we're not seeing anybody today." Clint said trying to keep his voice from waking Katie.

"I'm sorry Agent Barton, Mr. Stark is very adamant about being let in." JARVIS said and Clint sighed before pressing a kiss to Katie's head and slipping out of bed. He made sure to close the bedroom door behind him in case the impending conversation got loud as he feared. Clint grabbed the door knob and held it for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"Don't let him get to you." Clint muttered to himself before pulling open the door. The moment he did, he saw Tony fooling around with the security panel outside their door. Tony looked to Clint and rolled his eyes before turning back to the panel.

"She hasn't even been here a full hour and she's already messing with my God complex." Tony said placing the panel back on the wall before moving to go inside, but Clint simply held out a hand stopping him.

"She's sleeping, go away." Clint said about to close the door, but Tony pushed the door to stop him. "Stark, now I have zero patience for you, so be the smart guy that you are and leave. You will see her at some point, it just won't be now."

"What happened?" Tony asked and Clint sighed.

"They found us. I don't know how, but they did and for whatever reason people seem to think this is the safest place for her." Clint replied. "So this is where we're going to be until I find out whose trying to hurt her."

"We." Tony said and Clint shook his head. "I'm definitely going to help find the people who are trying to hurt my kitten." and with that Clint slammed the door in the man's face. He turned just as Katie sleepily walked out.

"Who was that?"

"Stark, I told him you were sleeping." Clint said walking over to her. "How are you feeling? I think there's food, are you hungry?

  
"Bart, I'm fine." Katie said as he wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on top her head. "I am perfectly capab—" Katie stopped and let out a deep groan.

"Kat?" Clint said pulling back to look at her face. "What—" before he could finish, Katie had already pulled away and was running in search of the bathroom. Clint let out a deep sigh before going after her. He found her crouched over the toilet bowl. "Do you want me do something?" she turned her head to send a glare in his direction. "What, I'm just trying to help."

"You did this to me." Katie muttered turning her head back to the toilet when she felt the turning of her stomach.

"Hey, I will apologize for a lot of things Kat. Some things I don't even think I should have to apologize for, but I do anyways." Clint replied as he folded his arms and leaned against the door frame. "But what I won't apologize for is the Hawk Jr. you have in the oven." and if looks could kill, Clint would probably be six feet under right now.

_Clint pushed open the door with one hand as he carried a paper bag full of things he'd picked up from the market._

" _Hey Kat, I'm back!" Clint said glancing around the house, noticing how quiet was. Usually whenever he went out and then came back, he'd find her in an array of different situations. The usuals were dancing in her underwear, testing out a new recipe from a cooking show(probably failing), dancing in her underwear, hanging pictures, or dancing in her underwear. She danced in her underwear a lot and he wasn't complaining. Today though, it was just too quiet and if he's learned anything over the years, it's that quiet and Kat just don't go together. "Kat!" he was about to head upstairs when he heard movement in the kitchen and suddenly instinct kicked it. He dropped the bag to the floor and reached behind him to grab the gun he had tucked in his pants, aiming it straight ahead. After only a couple of months, fully getting out of agent mode was just impossible. "Kat, where are you?!" he began moving slowly toward the kitchen, pushing open the door. There standing looking shell shocked at an over turned pot was his wife. Clint released a deep breath before tucking his gun back in his pants. "Hey Kat, for future reference when I'm calling your name, common courtesy is to, I don't know, respond. You know just to save your husband the mild heart attack." she didn't move, just continued to look down to the bottom of the pot like it was on fire. Clint's brow furrowed as he walked over following her line of sight. When he walked over he looked between the pot and Katie before letting out a snort. "Is it another spider, Kat? I told you if you can shoot a gun, you can kill a spider." he walked over to pick up the pot. "Once again I have to save my damsel-" he lifted the pot and was shocked into silence. There wasn't any spider, just five pink sticks lined in a row. Clint quickly dropped the pot once again to hide them and soon found himself sharing the same expression as Katie while looking to the pot._

_The entire house was silent as Katie and Clint stared at the pot, not seeing a pot. Both had scenarios running through their heads about pretty much everything. They saw their lives, their future...it all would change._

" _Huh," Clint said breaking to silence. He lifted his eyes from the pot to look over to Katie who remained in the spot he'd found her earlier. "How... I mean not how, I know the how, hell I most likely enjoyed the how, am I rambling?" he ran a hand over his eyes. "Why am I rambling, I don't ramble." he looked over to Katie who still stood as if she wasn't even paying attention to what he was saying. He looked down to the pot and let out a long sigh. "What are you going to do?" Six simple words tore Katie from her shock. She lifted her head and Clint did the same, their eyes meeting. Clint stood there and watched as the expression on her face changed from shocked to pissed in under sixty seconds. "What did I-" Katie walked around the kitchen island and Clint watched her movements warily. No one looking as upset as Katie did, would do anything he was going to like. Without missing a beat, Katie grabbed his shoulder before sending her fist right in his stomach and fuck did it hurt. Clint instantly crouched over in pain, wrapping his arms around his stomach._

" _What am I going to do!?" Katie yelled, her voice making sure to illustrate every emotion she was feeling. "I, as in me, because I some how managed to manifest this thing all by myself!" she shook her head and turned stalking out of the kitchen._

" _Shit," Clint said standing up straight and shaking off the hit. "I deserved that." he glanced back to the pot. The punch, though it hurt like hell, did seem to knock some sense into him. It made him think. Right now the woman he loved more than anything in this world and the next was carrying his...it was hard to say. It was kind of unbelievable, wonderful, actually it was fucking awesome and probably a few more adjectives he couldn't think of at the moment. And then he smiled. Without a second thought, Clint turned and ran in search of his wife. He found her in their bedroom buried under a mound of blankets, her head under a pillow. "I'm sorry." he walked over and took a seat on the edge of the bed and began rubbing the only part of her visible, a part of a leg. "That was a dumbass thing to say. I'm here, you know I'm here. We do this together."_

" _Go away!" she groaned from under the pillow and Clint shook his head before reaching over and pulling at the pillow. She tried to hold on to it but he was strong enough to pull it from her grasp. She crouched into herself, but not before he spotted the wet streaks on her cheek._

" _Hey, hey, Kat." he reached over trying to get her to look at him. She didn't turn and then he got an idea. He suddenly reached under the blanks and began tickling her side. She jolted up, sending a glare toward him._

" _Really, now seems like the time I want to be tickled. That's how you're reading the room right now?" Katie asked before smacking his arm. She slid out of bed and got to her feet, fully prepared to barricade herself in the bathroom, but Clint stood to his feet and wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her back to his chest. She put up a fight for all of about a few seconds before she gave up and just let her body rest against his. They stood like that for a few moments as Clint's arms wrapped around her. "What are we going to do?" she whispered dropping the back of her head to his shoulder._

" _My honest opinion?" Clint asked._

" _No, I want you to lie to me Bart. Lie, lie, lie." she snipped sending an elbow to his gut lightly. He placed a kiss to the side of her head, his hand moving to rest on her stomach._

" _I say we do this." Clint said and Katie turned her head to see the seriousness in his eyes. "What's the worst that can happen?" Katie let out a snort and turned to Clint._

" _That's a loaded question." Katie said folding her arms over her chest. "I mean this is us, the agent and the lab tech. A lot can happen. A lot has happened, this—this, this is a life. A small, precious, squishy, easily breakable life."_

" _This is also you and me Kat. I know you're scared."_

" _I'm not—"_

" _You're scared, and it's a normal reaction."_

" _How would you know?"_

" _Because I'm scared right now, and I want to believe we're not the first people to experience this." Clint said walking over and placing his hands on her waist and pulling her to him. "I know you're scared, but I also know you will be a great mother, I know you'll protect this child with your life and I know with all my heart that I want to be the one to witness it."_

" _Witness?" Katie asked and Clint chucked._

" _I'm sorry, I meant to add witness, slash actively participate and assist." Clint said and Katie finally smiled. He leaned forward, bringing his lips to hers and he couldn't explain it. It was different. He'd literally kissed this woman hundreds of times, but this time when he kissed her he couldn't explain the feeling. This was uncharted territory. A wife and now a baby and everything was still a little unexpected. He didn't think it was possible to love a person as much as he loved the woman in front of him, but then the impossible happened. The kiss lasted for a few moments before Katie pulled away with a groan._

" _No, Clint, this, this is crazy." Katie said as she began pacing back and forth. "I know nothing about being a mother. And in my entire life no one has come close to a good example. I mean the closest parental figure I would even consider mimicking is Coulson and unless parenting is standing and looking menacing, I don't think that will work." she stopped and looked over to Clint who was just standing there smiling at her. "What the hell are you smiling at?"_

" _It's just I don't see it."_

" _See what?"_

" _You doing anything and not making sure it's done right. I get you're freaking out right now, but I know you Kat. You, Katherine Barton, don't do anything and not give it your all. This won't be any different." Clint took a step forward and brought his hands to her waist. Katie closed her eyes and let her head drop to rest on his chest._

" _Why are you so calm, you're the one whose supposed to be freaking out." Katie muttered wrapping her arms around him._

" _I think you're misunderstood_ _who the most level headed person is in this relationship." Clint said placing a kiss on top of her head. Katie lifted her head to look into his eyes._

" _We're really going to do this?"_

" _I think we are." Clint replied with a smile. "Don't worry, I'm with you all the way." Katie quirked an eyebrow and he chuckled. "I know that sounded corny, but it's true." he brought his lips to hers and it was there again. That sensation when he kissed her, except this time he knew what it was. He'd found it. After years of searching, he found it. His purpose. Them. "The beach." Clint said randomly against her lips. Katie pulled back slightly to figure out what he was talking about. "I bet that's when it happened. Remember, we went to that seafood place, we got wasted drinking that weird drink we couldn't pronounce. We were walking to the house, down the beach and then we tripped. You were laughing so hard and you know I love your laugh."_

" _So what you're saying is this is your fault?" Katie interrupted._

" _No actually if we're placing blame it's on you. You laughed and after that it was history." Clint squeezed her waist as Katie's hand slid across his chest, her smile making his heart skip a beat. "Then again it could've been that time you smiled."_

" _Which_ _time?" Katie asked and Clint lifted his head in thought, before giving up and shrugging. Katie chuckled. "We have a problem, don't we?"_

" _Nah." Clint said before lifting her off her feet and carrying her over to the bed. "We're newlyweds, it's fine."_

Once it seemed Katie couldn't throw up anymore, Clint walked over and helped her to her feet. She thought he was simply going to help her walk back to the bed, but instead he lifted her into his arms and carried her bridal style. Katie let out a sigh as she let her head fall to rest on his chest. He laid her down in the bed and brought the blanket over her, before placing a kiss on her forehead.

"You want me to get you some ginger ale?" Clint asked and Katie silently nodded. He quickly stood to his feet and headed into the kitchen. The moment he looked in the refrigerator, he cursed to himself. Of course since no one knew they were coming, their kitchen wouldn't be stocked. Clint let out a frustrated groan, because he was going to have to do the one thing he really didn't want to do at the moment and that was leave. He walked back into the bedroom where he found Katie looking over to him. "I'm going to have run to the store because there's nothing in there."

"Bart, it's fine. You don't have to do that." Katie said.

"Yeah, I kind of do." Clint said crouch beside her and pushing a few strands of her hair behind her ear. "You're not feeling well and I have to do something about it."

"Bart—"

"There's a market down the street, I won't be gone long. I promise." Clint said placing a kiss to her forehead before turning and grabbing his jacket. "Is there anything else you want me to pick up?"

"No, I'm—" Katie stopped and tilted her head. "Actually, get ice cream." Clint chuckled but simply nodded before heading for the door. "Oh, and popcorn!" he stopped and turned back to her to see if there was more. "That's all." he turned to leave once again. This time he made it to the front door before he heard her yelling. "And bring something chocolate!"

"Should I be writing this down?!" he called back.

"I'll just have JARVIS text you a list!" Katie called back. Clint simply shook his head before finally leaving the apartment. He stood waiting for the elevator lost in thought when the doors finally slid open and out walked Bruce.

"Hey," Bruce greeted.

"What's up doc," Clint said as the men shook hands. "It's been a while."

"Yeah, but I hear this isn't by choice." Bruce replied and Clint simple nodded. "You guys alright?"

"We're dealing. I mean we had a life and it was a really good one." Clint said rubbing the back of his neck as his mind drifted. "And then it was just gone."

"Hey, I'm sure we're going to figure this out." Bruce said and Clint nodded. "Wait, were you going somewhere?"

"Oh, right yeah. I'm heading to the store. I guess since no one knew we were coming, nothing was really stocked." Clint said reach around to press the button for the now closed elevator when he got an idea. "Hey, could you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"I know this may seem totally random, but do you think you could check in on Kat while I'm gone. She isn't feeling too good and I'm already hesitant to leave her in the first place. I wouldn't ask, it's just—"

"Clint, it's fine. I'll peek in to check on her." Bruce replied. Clint gave him a friendly slap on the shoulder. "You probably shouldn't do the hitting though." Clint looked down to his hand and simply pulled it back. "I've been working on this degeneration device and I'm kind of throwing some things off."

"Like—"

"Like the annoying itch of the other guy being a little bit more obvious." Bruce said nervously fiddling with his fingers. "I still have him under control, but until further notice—"

"No hitting, got it." Clint said just as the elevator slid open. He stepped on and gave the man a wave. "Thanks again doc."

"No problem," Bruce called just as the doors were closing. Bruce was going to wait a while before popping in, but figured that if Katie really was sick, he should probably make sure it wasn't serious. He reached for the door knob of their room and tried to push open the door. "Uh, JARVIS, a hand?"

"I must receive permission from Agent Barton before letting you enter." JARVIS replied. "One second doctor." And so Bruce stood outside of Katie's apartment, his hands in his pockets. He should've known sooner or later someone would stumble upon him. To his relief it was someone who didn't pry.

"Doctor?" Steve said walking over to Bruce with a furrowed brow. "What are you doing?"

"Waiting for JARVIS to let me in." Bruce said nudging his head toward the door. Steve looked between Bruce in the door with a look of confusion before a sudden realization hit him.

"Wait, they're back?" Steve asked with wide eyes and Bruce nodded. "When?"

"Maybe a hour or so ago." Bruce replied. "Apparently those people we thought would just go away didn't."

"They were found?" Steve asked and the look on Bruce's face was answer enough.

"Agent Barton has approved your entry, doctor." JARVIS announced and suddenly the door popped open. Bruce took a step forward and stopped when he noticed that Steve had did the same. He silently turned to the captain.

"What are you doing?"

"It's just, I—" Steve was stammering, which Bruce came to notice meant the man was nervous about something. "Well now that she's here, I thought that maybe I could talk to her. You know I searched for Bucky everywhere I could think of and nothing. She was the last person to talk to him, maybe he told her something that can help."

"I don't think now is the best time. Barton says she's not feeling well, and I was just going in to make sure she was really alright." Bruce replied.

"It won't take long, I promise." Steve said moving past Bruce into the apartment. Bruce let out a sigh before the ding of the elevator caught his attention. He turned in time to see Tony stepping off the elevator, the man's eyes meeting the doctor's instantly. Tony stood there for a moment, his eyes narrowed as he looked to Bruce before turning to the open door of Katie's apartment. Without another word Tony was moving toward the apartment.

"Tony, no!" Bruce said moving to block him from going in. "I thought we agreed that you would talk to Pepper before you came here."

"I tried, Pepper was busy with wedding stuff and I was just about to override whatever Kitten did to my security system, but the angels were smiling on me." Tony said before trying to move past Bruce, but the doctor didn't budge. "I just want to talk to her."

"And it can wait." Bruce replied.

"I don't see her." Steve said coming back to the door, his eyes going to Bruce before noticing Tony. "What are you doing here, Stark?"

"Apparently missing the party." Tony said looking between Steve and Bruce before pushing the doctor's arm into the apartment. Steve was right, no one was around and so they both turned to Bruce.

"Barton went to the store to pick up a few things and asked me to look in on Katie while he was gone. And I doubt the last thing he's going to want to see is you two when he gets back."

"Why not, we're likable people." Tony replied letting his eyes roam around the apartment before spotting the closed bedroom door. "If you will excuse me." And so he was off.

"Tony don't!" Bruce called following after him, but his pleas fell on deaf ears, because he couldn't stop Tony from pushing open the door. They all walked into the slightly dark room, barely able to make out the figure on the bed.

"Lights on!" Katie's voice called and soon the room was bright. She blinked a couple of times before she stopped and looked to the three men staring at her. "Am I dreaming?" she looked around the room and turned back to the guys. "I had a dream like this once, but Bart was—" she shook her head before she started saying things that made people uncomfortable. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Clint asked me to check on you, said you were sick." Bruce said and Katie nodded. That was believable. She turned to Steve who nervously scratched the back of his head.

"I wanted to uh, see you too. See how you've been." Steve said with a slight smile that Katie saw through.

"And?"

"And maybe ask you a couple of questions about Bucky." Steve said sheepishly. Now that he actually saw her and saw that she did look slightly piqued he was thinking that Bruce was right and he should've waited. "But it can wait until tomorrow, or whenever you're feeling better. No rush." Katie simply nodded before turning to Tony who seemed to be staring at her, his head tilted to the side.

"I'm almost afraid to ask." Katie muttered.

"There's something different about you." Tony muttered and Katie looked at him for a moment before looking to Bruce and Steve who just shrugged.

"My hair is longer since the last time you saw me." Katie said pointing to her shoulder length hair. He stared at her for a little while longer before shaking his head and walking over plopping beside her on the bed. Katie looked over to see him clasping his hands behind his head and leaning back on the bed.

"I missed you Kitten." Tony said before reaching over and flicking her nose. She shooed his hand away.

"And I'm going to miss you if Bart comes back and finds you in our bed." Katie said before pushing his arm weakly.

"Well technically I kind of own everything, so technically this is my bed that you're in and I'm being a nice guy and not kicking you out." Tony said proudly.

"So he does this now?" Katie asked turning to Bruce and Steve. "He's the ass who flaunts his wealth in people's face, even his friends who are choosing to be here." she turned back to Tony. "Once again, that's choosing to be here. No one's here because you're Daddy Stark-Bucks. You've surrounded yourself with a bunch of people who don't care about your money. Throwing it in our faces just annoys us and makes us want to hit you." she slapped the back of her hand to his stomach. "Now go before Clint comes back."

"Hey, stop with the hitting. And I haven't seen you for like ever. If Bird Boy has a problem with it, he can go fix it himself."

"Well he will, by breaking your face." Katie said before she leaned in to Tony and began sniffing. She quickly slapped a hand over her nose. "What the hell is that smell?" Tony lifted his shirt and sniffed.

"What, my cologne? Pepper bought if for me." Tony said as Katie turned away from him turning slightly green. "Kitten?" Before he knew it, she'd jumped out of bed and was running into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

"Great, just great Stark." Steve said following behind Bruce who went to the bathroom door. Bruce attempted to open the door, but it was locked. "If Barton wasn't going to kill us before, he probably is now."

"Katie, it's me, are you alright?" Bruce asked. The only response he got was retching from the other side of the door. "Katie?"

"I'm—" she cough a couple of time before continuing. "I'm fine, really. You guys can go."

"Like that's going to happen." Tony said pushing past Bruce to try an open the door. "Open the door!"

"No, Tony, look I really just want to be alone right now and really really far away from that cologne." Katie replied. Tony sniffed his shirt again and shrugged.

"Hey, I don't like it either, but I had to wear it!" he called back when suddenly a door opening and closing made everything stop.

"Aw hell." Bruce muttered letting his head fall against the door. They all turned at the footsteps and in moments Clint appeared with a look of confusion and then worry.

"Where's Kat?"

"She's fine, she's in the bathroom, uh—" Bruce stammered turning to the door. "Vomiting I think."

"Shit," Clint muttered before walking over and lightly tapping on the door. "Kat, it's me, are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'll be out in a minute." Katie said her voice wasn't as strong as he would like it. He was about to reply when he turned and the sudden presence of Tony Stark in his bedroom dawned on him. "What the hell are you doing in here?" he looked over to Steve. "What are all of you doing in here?"

"Well technically—"

"Tony, not the time!" Bruce snapped and Tony simply turned back to Clint.

"I have a better question," Tony said point toward the bathroom. "What the fuck did you do to my kitten?" as if not even of his own free will, Clint was stalking toward the man. Bruce and Steve had grab him and hold him back.

"Alright!" Clint said pulling from Bruce and Steve's grasp. "It's been fun, but everyone out!"

"Alright." Bruce and Steve said, but Tony simply shook his head.

"Sorry Bird Brain, I'm not going anywhere until I know she's alright." Tony said taking a step forward.

"Yes you are." Bruce said looking over to Steve and nudging a head. Steve nodded before both men walk over to Tony, each grabbing one side and carrying him toward the door.

"What—" Tony squirmed but between the super soldier and the Bruce, it was no use. "I demand you put me down!" he tried pulling from their grasp, but release only came when they stepped outside and the door was slamming behind them. "You guys really suck."

"And you can't seem to understand what boundaries are." Bruce replied.

"Something's wrong—"

"Maybe, or maybe not. What I do know is that your place isn't on that side of the door and it's time for you to understand that." Bruce said before releasing a frustrated sigh. He turned and stalked back to his apartment. He needed tea and some light jazz, the only thing he thinks can calm him down right now.

"What crawled into pants?" Tony asked turning to Steve who simply shook his head.

"You know I'm starting to understand why Clint wants to hit you all the time." Steve said before turning and heading to his own apartment. Tony stood there alone for a moment. He glanced back to the door before stalking off toward the elevator. He walked into his sky view Penthouse finding Pepper right where he left her. Sitting on the couch surrounded by little sticky notes and diagrams. At least this time she looked over to him.

"Oh, there you are." Pepper said before looking down to something. "I'm still not sure where to seat Bruce, I love him, but he makes a lot of people nervous." she shook her head before meeting Tony's gaze to see a look on his face. "What's wrong?" Tony cleared his throat before walking over and taking a seat across from her. "Tony?"

"Ok, so there's been a development that I didn't find out about until about a hour ago." Tony said finding himself wishing for the ability to just leave his own body. "I'm not gonna drag this out, I'm just gonna say it and then it'll be done. I mean it's not like it's a big deal or anything—"

"Tony!" Pepper snapped in frustration. "Spit it out."

"Katie and Clint are here." Tony said quickly and he could see her expression drop as she turned away from him. "The people who attacked her before found her and tried again." Pepper turned back to him. "Until we figure out who these people are, we think that it would be best if they stayed here."

"You keep saying we," Pepper said looking over to him. "But none of those "we" include me."

"Pep-"

"Tony, I'm not going to do this because I know how this story ends. I know how you get when it comes to her." Pepper folded the book that was on the table before standing to her feet. "So I'm not going to say anything." and with that the woman turned and stalked off into the bedroom. Tony shook his head before standing to his feet and walking over to pour himself a drink. He took a long sip before turning.

"JARVIS, bring up the files Natasha had sent over." Tony ordered and soon a holographic screen appeared on the wall. Tony walked over and glanced over the files that appeared. There wasn't much, just a bunch of surveillance photos. Many he's probably already seen. "JARVIS, connect me to Spider Ninja please." soon a video chat screen appear and in moments Natasha's annoyed face appeared.

"This better be good."

"It is," Tony said. "The files you sent over, it's nothing. You know that right?"

"Well at the moment, it's the only thing we have access to. What I can tell you is that the files I sent you are only part of the data you have."

"Well where's the other part?"

"You're going to have to ask your kitten." Natasha replied before ending the call. Tony took another sip of his drink before dropping his nose to sniff his shirt. He shook his head as he began thinking up ways to make that bottle of cologne disappear.

Clint stood outside the bathroom door, where he would remain until Katie came out. The current wait time was about five minutes. He lifted his fist to knock again, but was stopped before the door swung open. He opened his mouth, but she interrupted.

"I'm fine, just the wonders of pregnancy." Katie said taking a step forward and wrapping her arms around him. Clint's arms tightened around her, lightly rubbing her back. "Are our guests gone?"

"Yeah, they're gone. I'm sorry. I asked Bruce to check in, but I should've known the moment I left, Stark would find a way in." Clint said.

"It's fine. He was worried, he just wanted to make sure I was alright." Katie said and Clint scoffed. She pulled back to look at his face. It was that same sour expression he wore whenever she mentioned Tony's name. "Don't do that."

"Sorry, can't help it. I don't like the guy and when you defend him it just irks me even more." Clint replied.

"Ok, how about screw Tony Stark, that bastard, I hope he slips on a banana peel!" Katie said before pulling away and walking out of the room. Clint turned to follow. He found her digging in the bag from the store and pulling out the bottle of ginger ale.

"And now I'm the bad guy?" Clint asked.

"No, now you're the jealous guy and he annoys the hell out of me," Katie said pouring the soda in a glass. "Because I don't get jealous guy."

"You don't get me not liking another guy always around you. I don't like another guy always hovering over you, and calling you his kitten." Clint said and Katie looked over to him and shook his head. "And if the situation was reversed, you wouldn't bat an eye?"

"Nope," Katie replied before taking a sip from her glass. "Wanna know why?" Clint nodded folded his arms over his chest. "Because you see this—" she held up her hand to show him her wedding ring. "This says that you're mine and I'm yours and I know we believe that. I know that nothing or no one can change that." she placed her glass down before taking a step toward him. She placed herself in front of him before grabbing his hand and placing it above her stomach. "Plus you've implanted your alien inside of me, so that only solidifies the fact that you and I are sort of the forever kind of deal." Clint's hand remained above her stomach for a few seconds before he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her to his chest. "You see I don't get jealous guy because at the end of the day you have us."

It was a black van. On the outside it looked like any other van, but on the inside was a bank of monitors and screens, each with a different angle of the tower. Two men sat, each wearing a pair of headphones. One of their cell phones rang, and the man quickly removed the headphones.

"Ja," the man greeted in German. He listened for a moment before he silently nodded and hung up the phone and turning to his partner. "The boss wants this done quickly."

"How do we do that when she's locked in the Stark fortress?" the partner asked.

"He's says he's sending in Kane." Both men went silent as they turned to the monitors. "Kane is messy."

"But he gets the job done."


	21. Chapter 21

For the first time in a long time Katie woke up first. It wasn't because of morning sickness or anything. It was simply because she couldn't stand being in her self-conscious. Her head was filled with the horrible possibilities that were all so possible just because of who she was. She glanced over to Clint who still snoozed, his hand lazily hanging over her stomach. Her lips placed the softest kiss to his lips before subtly slipping from his grasp and out of bed. As quietly and quickly as she could, Katie slipped on some clothes before stepping out of the bedroom.

"JARVIS, if Clint asks where I am, let him know that I'm down in the lab working." Katie said walking toward the door.

"Yes, Katie." JARVIS answered and with that Katie was off to Tony's lab. The tower was unusually quiet. With as many people living here, she expected more noise. The lab was no different. She figured it was still too early. She stepped off the elevator into the dark lab before lifting her head. She opened her mouth to order for the lights to come on when they suddenly came on by themselves.

"Cool." Katie muttered as she glanced around Tony's lab which again had been redesigned since she was last here. Everything was just so shiny and new. Well there was something that didn't change. The freaky kitten mural on the back wall hadn't changed one bit. She chuckled lightly before heading over to see what they'd been working on. There was Bruce's device that looked slightly different since she last seen it.

"Do you need to de-hulk, because if you do, that won't work." A voice said from behind her that made her smile. Katie turned to see Tony, who looked suspiciously sweaty. But from the workout clothes and the water bottle, she figured she was the one just jumping to conclusions.

"Why are you up so early?"

"Oh, well I run now." Tony said before taking a long gulp from the water bottle. "My current goal is to keep up with Capsicle."

"That's impossible. I mean he is an artificially, amplified specimen." Katie said walking over to him. "Just stick to what you're good at, looking good and keeping your mouth shut, sugar."

"Good looking, huh?" Tony says, choosing to ignore the insult. "I always knew you had a thing for me." Katie laughed before grabbing his nose and giving it a slight jiggle. He pushed her hand away.

"Annoying, isn't it?" Katie said before turning to a massive lab. "So, do you always come down to your lab after a workout?"

"Yep, all the time. I mean there’s nothing like pushing your body to the brink and sweating like a whore in a church to make you want to do science." Tony said making Katie laugh.

"So JARVIS told you I was down here?" Katie asked.

"Well yeah, but I like my answer better," Tony said looking over to her. "You look better this morning."

"Yeah last night was just a bug," Katie said clearing her throat before turning back to the lab. "So I know what Bruce has been working on, what about you?"

"Well me, me not much." Tony said walking over to the holo computer and pulling up images of prospective Iron Man suits. "There's these, plus two others." he turned to Katie. "There's this peacekeeping program that—" Tony noticed her eyes glazing over. "Am I boring you, kitten?"

"No, I'm trying to distract myself, and I thought coming down here and surrounding myself in this utopia would help." she turned back to him and shook her head. "But it's not. I keep seeing myself happy, grocery shopping and then there's people shooting at me. I guess my life is still kind of-"

"Unexpected," Tony said.

"I was going to say fucked up, but hey your answer is good too." Katie said walking up beside Tony.

"Look, I know things are a bit crazy, but we're going to figure this out." Tony said and Katie turned to him with a furrowed brow. "Spider ninja sent over the information that's been collected so far about the people who attacked you and—"

"No," Katie said shaking her head and walking off.

"No?" Tony asked. "No!" Katie stopped and turned back to him. "Are you refusing my help?"

"That's exactly what I'm doing, Mr. Stark." Katie replied and Tony chuckled dryly sitting his bottle down and folding his arms over his chest.

"This should be good, go on."

"You're not helping." Katie said. "It's pretty simple. This is my problem, so I'm going to deal with it. Me, not you."

"No," Tony countered and Katie groaned loudly. "Hey, stomp your feet all you want a kitten, doesn't change the fact that there are people who are actively and aggressively looking for you." she turned back to him. "They want you dead or to dissect your brain and I could name a couple of reasons why that can't happen, do you want to hear them?"

"Not particularly."

"One!" Tony called holding up a finger. "There's Thor and his weird psychic lady who lives in another realm who predicted your death."

"That was never proven."

"Two!" Tony said now holding up two fingers. "If you were to be killed, I'm almost certain half the team will turn into homicidal maniacs who will seek revenge, in turn, becoming evil."

"That's very overdramatic."

"Three! I need my kitten around." Tony said. "Four!"

"You get your own finger, huh?" Katie asked and Tony stalked over to her.

"The list goes on and on kitten. The end will always be the same. You can't die. So we won't let you." Tony said. "So say no, yell, scream and call me names, it won't change the fact that I'm helping you." Katie folded her arms over her chest and stared at him for a moment.

"Steve...Jobs." She seethed and Tony closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"That hurt," Tony said tapping his chest right above his heart. "A lot, I'm not going to lie." he opened his eyes and smiled. "But I'm still helping." he opened his arms and pulled her into a hug.

"Eww, you're sweaty and you smell." Katie said squirming in his arms.

"Just take it," Tony said. "Take the love."

"Oh, I hate you so much." Katie said unable to stop laughing. Once Tony pulled away he simply turned and headed back to the computer.

"So where is it?" he asked and Katie stood there for a moment wondering what he was talking about. He looked over his shoulder to her. "Natasha said she sent part of the information, the other part you have. So where is it?" Katie sighed before reaching down and snagging a small, silver flash drive from her pocket. "What is it?"

"The Chambers family." Katie muttered looking at the drive. "All bundled up in this nifty little flash."

"Have you opened it yet?" Tony asked and Katie looked over to him and shook her head. "Do you want to open it?" she shook her head again. "Ok," Tony said scratching his chin in thought. "How about this, I'll open it."

"No," Katie replied. "What if you open it and it says I was born a dude or with a tail or that I'm really an alien." Tony tilted his head as he stared at her. "Yeah, my head has gone there."

"Well we have to open it." Tony said walking over to her and holding out his hand. "We'll do it together." Katie looked down to his hand.

"I'm not taking your sweaty, cootie ridden hand." Katie said and without another word Tony grabbed her hand and pulled her to the computer. "I hate you so much."

"Love you too kitten." Tony said before snagging the flash and plugging it in.

It was the British voice of the tower's AI that woke Clint up. It was unexpected and for a few moments he forgot where he was. He flicked open his eyes and looked to the other side of the bed to find it empty.

"Kat?" Clint said as he sat up from the bed rubbing his eyes.

"Katie requested I inform you that she would be in the lab this morning." JARVIS said and Clint's brow knitted in confusion. She usually slept in. Actually she always slept in. "Agent Barton, Ms. Potts is at the door." More confusion as Clint stood to his feet. He slipped on a pair of sweat pants and pulled on a shirt before heading to the door. The door opened to reveal Pepper Potts holding a very large basket that seemed to be filled with food and drinks.

"Clint," The woman said with a wide smile. "It's good to see you again." Clint, though still a bit tired found a small smile.

"You too, Pepper." Clint said his eyes going to the basket. "What's this?"

"Oh!" Pepper said holding the basket out to him. "This is a welcome to the tower gift." Clint took the basket and was able to get a better look at it. There were lots of fancy chocolates and wines and lots of other things he couldn't pronounce. "I would've brought this earlier, but I didn't even know you guys were coming."

"That's alright, no one did." Clint said before taking a step back. "Come in." Pepper nodded before following in behind him.

"Crap," she swore and Clint looked over his shoulder as he sat the basket on the table. "I'm sorry, but I'm just now realizing that nothing was set up for you guys, was it?" Clint simply shook his head. "Don't worry, I'll make sure your kitchen is stocked and you have all your toiletries and anything else you can think of."

"Pepper, that's not necessary, really." Clint said walking back over to her. "We're good."

"Nonsense," Pepper said already typing away on her cell phone. "This is the Avengers Tower and you are an Avenger.” she looked up to him and smiled. "I want to make sure you feel at home." she finished sending off the message before glancing around the apartment. "Is Katie still sleeping?"

"Uh, no," Clint said scratching his head. "She's down in the lab." Pepper turned back to him, her smile gone. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just-" Pepper shook her head before turning her back to him. "This is crazy, I'm being crazy."

"Pepper, what's going on?" Clint asked again not sure what was happening at the moment.

"Tony," Pepper said turning back to Clint and he watched waiting for her to continue. "Tony is in the lab. He went for a run with Steve, and when he got back, he went straight to the lab." Clint let out a sigh before turning away. "I know that face." Clint turned back to her. "I'm just glad I'm not the only one making it. You don't understand it, do you?" Clint simply shook his head and Pepper let out a sigh of relief. For so long she thought she was just being paranoid, but to know that she wasn't the only one with the feelings was a breath of fresh air. "You have no idea how glad I am to hear you say that." Pepper said and Clint looked at her like she was crazy. "That didn't come out right. I meant I'm glad that I'm not the only one that sees it. Katie and Tony's relationship is confusing and maybe it's the science thing or the weird shared sense of humor, but it's not just friends." Clint's eyes darkened and Pepper realized how that must've sounded. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not hinting that something sordid is going on. It's just there's a part of them that they only share with each other."

"Listen Pepper, don't take offense to this, but I really don't like Tony. He's arrogant, pompous, and probably a few more words I won't bore you with. But the main reason I don't like Tony is the fact that Kat cares about him so god damn much."

"So what do we do?" Pepper asked taking a step forward. "I mean we could give them an ultimatum. That could work, or we could just try to keep them apart another way. You're the secret agent here, any ideas?" Clint looked at her for a moment wondering if she was kidding, but the look in her eyes told him otherwise.

"Pepper, I may not like Tony, but I know my wife and she won't be manipulated or pressured into anything." Clint said. "We may not ever understand why those two seem to like each other, but I know Kat and I know where we stand with each other. And at the moment that's all I care about." Pepper stared at Clint for a while before a wide smile graced her face and then it hit him. "Shit."

"Did you just say, wife?" Pepper asked slightly bouncing on her feet. Clint smacked his hand over his eyes and shook his head.

"Kat is going to kill me." Clint muttered.

"Did you just say, wife!" Pepper asked a little louder. Clint dropped his hand and looked to her and nodded. "You're married!" Pepper squealed happily. "That's so great. You've only been gone for a year, when did this happen?"

"A couple of months after we left actually. It was spur of the moment and you can't say anything." Clint replied.

"Why, this is fantastic news."

"Yeah, but she seems to think Matt is going to be upset with her because she didn't include him or something." Clint said and Pepper nodded in understanding. "She wanted him to know first, so could you please just not say anything.?"

"Of course." Pepper said.

"Not even to Tony." Clint added and Pepper sighed but nodded.

"Ok, but you have to tell him soon. I'm no good with secrets and this one is just too good." Pepper said clapping her hands. She suddenly threw her arms around Clint in a tight hug before pulling away her eyes wide. "Oh, I just got the perfect idea. Matt comes back from his vacation today, and I'm sure Katie will want to tell him right away. What if I threw a celebratory party for you guys. It'll be the perfect place to let everyone in one the news."

"I don't know, I should probably talk to Kat about this." Clint said as Pepper took out her cell phone.

"I'm sure she'll love it. Tony told me what happened, why you guys are here and maybe a little party with friends could help take your minds off of things." Pepper said before looking up to Clint with a smile. "A little distraction from reality." Clint thought about it for a moment and the idea did seem tempting. Pepper stood there waiting for an answer.

"Ok, whatever, do it." Clint said and Pepper clapped her hands excitedly.

"You won't regret this. I'll take care of everything. All you have to do is show up." Pepper said before bringing her phone to her ear. "See ya tonight." she waved as she hurried out of the apartment.

"Kat is either going to love this idea or I'm a dead man." Clint muttered before turning and looking at the basket.

Tony and Katie stood in front of the hologram computer. The files had just finished extracting and now all they had to do was open one.

"I can't do this." Katie said turning to Tony. "I can't let the cat out the bag because once I do, there's no putting it back in."

"Remember what I said." Tony said taking her hand in his. "I'm not gonna let you run anymore kitten. This will eat at you and it won't go away. It's time to stop running and face it." They both turned back to the screen. "I'm right here." Katie took a deep breath and finally did.

"JARVIS, open the first file." she ordered.

_It was a video file. For the first few moments it was just a black screen and then suddenly a countdown has begun._

_3...2...1_

" _Please state your name for the record." A female voice spoke from somewhere outside the sight of the grainy camera. At the moment the camera was focused on a young man, mid-twenties, sandy blonde hair, with a cigarette in his mouth. He took out his lighter about to light it. "There's no smoking." he looked over to the corner of the room and smiled before plucking the cigarette from his mouth and sliding it behind his ear. "Please state your name for the record." the man turned to the camera and folded his hands over the table._

" _Martin Cole Chambers." the man said flicking open and closed his zippo._

" _Tell me Mr. Chambers, why are you here?" the woman asked and Martin let out a rough laugh. "Was that a funny question?"_

" _Actually it was," Martin replied looking over to her. "Because you know why I'm here, and I know why I'm here."_

" _Can you direct your answer to the camera."_

" _I'm here because one day while out training with my squadron, a man walks over to me and tells me that I have potential. Now my first reaction was to laugh in his face, which I did. Longer and harder than I care to recount, but there's no changing it now. Once the initial hilarity of the situation died down, he handed me this." Martin pulled out a white business card that couldn't be read from the distance of the camera, but the large eagle on the front was hard to miss. He turned the card to read it. "The Strategic Homeland Intervention, and Logistics Division." he laughed to himself. "That's a fucking mouthful, isn't it?" he looked back over to the corner of the room where it is assumed the interviewer is sitting._

" _Mr. Chambers, you still have yet to answer the question. Why exactly are you here, right now, this very moment?" the woman asked and Martin dropped his head to look at the card, flipping it through his fingers._

" _I'm here to serve my country," Martin said looking up to the camera. "Plain and simple."_

" _Why don't I believe you?"_

" _I think that's a question you should be asking yourself, doc." Martin replied slipping the cigarette from behind his ear and sliding in between his teeth. He was about to light it once again when he was interrupted._

" _Yeah, it's still no smoking."_

" _What's the fucking big deal?!" Martin snapped taking the cigarette from his mouth. "It's just a smoke."_

" _Kill yourself all you want Mr. Chambers, but I like my life." the woman responded and Martin turned away. "We've spent ten minutes waiting for you to answer one question, why is it so hard?"_

" _I already answered it."_

" _No you didn't."_

" _Yes I—"_

" _Mr. Chambers, do you know what this is?" the woman asked. "This is it. You passed all of your field training, and you've passed your knowledge tests and this is the finish line. You don't cross it unless I say so. So let's try this again, why are you here?" Martin looked down at his hand and fiddled with his thumbs. There was a quiet sigh from somewhere in the room. "Ok, I think that's it, we're done here." someone moved in front of the camera._

" _Wait!" Martin called and soon he was visible again._

" _Are you ready to answer?" the interviewer asked and Martin nodded. "Alright then, look at the camera." Martin begrudgingly turned to the camera. "Martin Chambers, why are you here?"_

" _I'm here—" Martin started but stopped letting out a long sigh. "I'm here because I want to make a difference. I'm here because I believe that SHEILD can help me do that. No, I'm here because I know SHIELD can help me do that." he looked over to the interviewer. "Do you believe that?" there was a silence, but the interviewer must've nodded. "Good." he turned back to the camera. "Now can I get my badge and a gun?" and then the video ended stopping on the image of Martin._

Katie and Tony stood there, neither knowing quite what to say as they look in the eyes of a man she hadn't seen in years.

"Hey," Tony said his arm sliding behind her and pulling her to his side. "It's alright." Katie looked over to him confused until she felt something wet fall down her cheek. She reached up and wipe her eye to feel tears. She was crying. Katie turned back to the screen to see the face of her father and for some reason his voice snapped in her head.

" _There's no cryin' darlin’. Cryin solves nothin', it changes nothin', so that makes it pointless."_

She turns away from the screen and drys her eyes quickly with the back of her hand. Tony watches her closely as she displayed emotions he hadn't seen before.

"I can't do this." Katie whispered turning to him. "I can't do this." she looked over her shoulder to the screen. He was still there, staring right at her. She quickly turned away. "What if there's nothing on this flash that can help us?"

"And what if there is?" Tony asked.

"Sir, Mr. Bank's car has just pulled arrived." JARVIS informed.

Katie closed her eyes and tried to will the tears from falling, but she was failing. It was the stupid hormones, she thought as she kept wiping tears away.

"What do you want to do?" Tony asked and Katie opened her eyes and turned to him.

"The only one who knows about the flash is Bart and he'd freak if he knew I did this without him, so for now we tell no one." Katie said and Tony simply nodded. She looked over her shoulder to her father's face. "Close file." soon the image was gone and the screen was black. "I have to talk to Matt." she turned back to Tony before bringing her arms around him. "Thanks for being here."

"Anytime Kitten." Tony said before placing a kiss to her head. She pulled away and turned to walk toward the elevator. "I'm serious." she turned back to him. "When you're ready to keep going, let me know and I'm here. Ok?"

"Ok." Katie said with a nod before heading for the elevator. Once inside Katie let her body fall against the wall.

"Katie, are you alright?" JARVIS asked.

"I'm—" Katie felt her heart racing in her chest. "I'm fine." she bent over grabbing her knees trying to calm her breath. "Don't call anyone, please." she closed her eyes trying to focus on calming herself when the door slid open.

"What—" soon hands were on her shoulders. "Katie?" Katie lifted her head to see the worried face of her favorite doctor. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm—" she dropped her head closing her eyes. "I'm fine, just feeling a little—" she suddenly felt dizzy and stumbled. Bruce caught her in his arms. "Faint." it was the last word before everything was gone and replaced with darkness.

_Katie's eyes were shut tight, a wide smile on her face. Her father said he had a surprise for her. And since it was her tenth birthday, she knew it was going to be something awesome._

" _Gameboy, Gameboy, Gameboy." she repeated in her head. She felt her father's hands on her shoulders as he pushed her to her surprise. After a few moments of walking they stopped and Katie was bouncing on her feet in anticipation. Soon the blindfold was taken from her eyes and just as soon as it did, the smile was falling from her face._

" _There it is, Darlin." Martin said walking over to stand next to the leather punching bag he'd hung in their basement. "What do you think?"_

" _It's a punching bag." Katie said before looking around. This was a joke. Her real present was somewhere else. Katie turned back to her father who stood with his arms folded looking down at her as if waiting for something. "Well where is it, where's my present?"_

" _This is it," Martin said pointing to the punching bag. "Happy birthday."_

" _You're joking?" Katie asked frowning as she turned to the bag. "What am I supposed to do with that?"_

" _Punch it." Martin said. He walked over and squat a bit so they were face to face. He rose his fists in front of him. "C'mon."_

" _What, dad no." Katie said before turning to go back upstairs, but Martin grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Dad, what are you doing?"_

" _This is it, Darlin, this—" he pointed to the punching bag. "This is going to be the best gift you ever get." he held up his fists once more. "Now c'mon."_

" _Why?" Katie asked._

" _Because I said so." Martin said his voice changing to that tone that made her slightly shake. Katie swallowed hard before raising her fists, mimicking his stance. "From this day forward you are going to do everything I say, exactly as I say it. Do you understand?" Katie looked at him for a moment, before nodding. "Speak."_

" _I understand." she spoke coldly._

" _I understand, what?!" his voice spoke in the tone that he never used before. A tone Katie had a feeling she'd be hearing a lot from this point on._

" _I understand, sir."_

She felt cold metal against her skin that brought her back to reality. Her eyes opened to find Bruce standing above her holding a stethoscope to her chest. She looked around to see that she was lying in a hospital bed. From the size and design of the room, she must be in the tower medical bay. Bruce looked down meeting her eyes and quickly removed the instrument from his ears.

"How are you feeling?" Bruce asked.

"I'm fine." Katie said sitting from the bed. Bruce grabbed her arm helping her to sit up. "What happened?"

"You fainted." Bruce said and Katie looked to him.

"Wow," Katie said with a shake of her head. "That's weird. You know what I think I forgot to eat breakfast." she turned to Bruce with a slight smile. "That must be it, low blood sugar."

"Possible." Bruce said walking around to stand in front of her bed. "You being pregnant is more probable." Katie sighed before turning away from him. "And from your lack of freaking out, I would say I'm correct." she turned back to him and simply shrugged. "How far along are you?"

"Three months."

"Congratulations," Bruce replied. "Does Clint know?"

"Yes, which is why I should probably go find him now. He's probably looking for me, and this is the last place he needs to find me." Katie said moving to stand. She made it to her feet, stumbling slightly. Bruce moved to help her, but she held up a hand. "I'm good."

"Do you have a primary physician?"

"I did, but then people tried to kill me so we had to move." Katie replied cheekily. "Look I've been here all of a day. I will get all of that settled soon, but at the moment I just really need to focus on one thing at a time. Like at the moment I need to find my husband before he goes on a rampage to find me." Katie walked toward the door. She was about to leave when she realized what she'd just said. She was sending silent prayers hoping he'd missed that little part.

"Husband?" Bruce asked and Katie letting out a loud groan.

"Fuck!" she snapped before turning to him with a pointed finger. "You say nothing to no one."

"Wait, you and Clint are married?" Bruce asked. "Like married, married?" Katie just nodded and Bruce smiled with a shake of his head. "That actually makes sense." the smile on his face dropped before he looked back over to her. "Matt—"

"Is going to freak the fuck out."

"And Tony!"

"Is going to freak even more, I know. So let me do this doc, just keep it to yourself."

"Alright, but this may be a big tower, but everyone here is in everyone's business. I'm not sure how long your secret will last."

"Hopefully long enough for me to tell Matt. Matt has to hear it from my mouth." Katie said. "No offense, but he's the one I really, really wished was there."

"No offense taken." Bruce said. "Look until you find a doctor I want you to come to me if you're feeling off or if you think anything is wrong. I'll come up with a list of good doctors in the city that you should check out."

"Thanks, Dr. Green."

"I won't do anything if you keep calling me that." Bruce said and Katie just laughed as she turned and walked out of the room. "And get some rest!”

Katie rode the elevator in silence, the video of her father still playing in her head. She couldn't get her father's face out of her head. Once the doors opened, Katie walked out going straight for her apartment. The moment she opened the door, she stopped when she saw Clint, but he wasn't alone.

"Mattie!" Katie said with a smile. Her brother turned to her and the moment he did, the smile fell from her lips. "What the hell happened to your face?" Katie walked over placing a hand gently on the side of her brother's bruised face.

"I may have gotten into a bar fight on my vacation." Matthew said bringing his hand over Katie's. "To be honest, I was so wasted I barely remember how I got back to my room." Katie turned back to him with a glare. "Seriously, I'm fine. Which is less than I can say for you, the guy told me what happened?"

"The guy has a name." Clint said from behind them. "It's Clint, or Barton, hell I might even let you call me Bart." Matthew chose to ignore him as he looked to his sister.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, I'm always fine, you know that." Katie said before placing a kiss on his cheek. "No cowardly terrorist gonna knock me down."

"Well I'm glad to hear it." Matthew said before letting out a yawn. "Alright, I wanted to say hi, but I'm beat and need at least a couple of hours of sleep. Catch up later?"

"Sure." Katie said. Matthew turned to leave, and Clint gave her a look. "Uh, Mattie, wait!" Matthew stopped and turned back to her. "I kind of have something that I would like to tell you." Matthew looked between the pair in confusion as he walked over.

"Ok," he drawled out. "What's up?"

"Right." Katie said before clearing her throat. "How about we have a seat."

"You know I think I'll stand." Matthew replied getting the feeling he was about to hear something he wasn't going to like. "Get on with it Rinny."

"Fine." Katie said glancing over to Clint who just nodded. She turned back to Matthew who seemed to be waiting impatiently. "It's been a year since I last saw you and a lot has changed. I mean look at you. You're a man, a strong smart man, whose working for one of the most successful companies in the world."

"I'm a PA, not Jesus." Matthew said and Katie glared at him. "I'm sorry, continue."

"Like I was saying, you're all grown up now and I'm proud of you little brother." Katie said with a smile. Matthew still glanced between the pair suspiciously.

"Rinny, you're scaring me. Are you dying?" Matthew asked before turning a glare to Clint. "Did you give her something, you sick son of a bitch?!"

"Matthew, no, stop!" Katie said pushing him back. "Calm down, it's nothing like that, it's—" she looked in her brother's eyes and knew this wasn't going to go well, but she was going to have to tell him sooner or later. "While Clint and I were gone, we—" the words were getting harder to say and then something happened she didn't expect. Clint wrapped an arm around her, and pulled her to his side.

"Listen Matt, we got hitched." Clint said and everything stopped. No one said a word. Katie turned to Clint and glared at him for his bluntness. "What?" they both turned back to Matthew who stood there his eyes glazing over.

"Mattie?" Katie said, but he didn't answer. She took a step toward him, but he simply moved away. "C'mon Mattie." he just waved her off before turning and storming out of the apartment.

"Well, that went well." Clint said and Katie turned to him with that deadly look again. "I'm sorry, but you were drawing it out."

"And you were blunt and inconsiderate." Katie said before slapping his shoulder. She shook her head before stalking off toward the bedroom. "I'm sleeping until the world ends."

"Uh, Kat?" Clint said and it was the tone in his voice that told her something was off. She stopped and turned back to him. He looked nervous. Katie walked back over to him and folded her arms over her chest.

"What did you do?"

When Tony arrived back to the penthouse, what he didn't expect was the unexpected dinner party he and his fiance were now hosting. Of course he argued and complained, but in the end Tony did what Tony usually did. Anything to make Pepper happy. That's why he stood in front of a full-length mirror buttoning up a black shirt, that paired with his black pants perfectly. Pepper walked into the bedroom putting on an earring and Tony stopped what he was doing to just marvel at her. She wore a simple silver dress, but like all things Pepper wore, it was just perfect. She looked over to him and smiled.

"You look nice."

"I always look nice." Tony replied walking over to her and bringing his hands to her waist. "So there's nothing I can say to make this whole party go away?"

"Tony, no." Pepper said playfully smacking his arm before walking over to her closet. "C'mon this will be good for Katie and Clint." That was the other reason Tony was hesitant about the party. It was no secret that Katie wasn't Pepper's favorite person, so for her to now be throwing this party threw up all sorts of red flags. "They were just running out of their lives and I think a party will be a good way to take their minds off of it."

"That's nice of you," Tony said going over to pour himself a drink. "And not that you're not a nice person, it's just when it comes the kitten." Pepper sighed, her back still to him. "Like that, that little noise you make when I say her name."

"But it's not her name." Pepper said turning back to him. "Kitten is a pet name, something not a lot of people have for their friends and yet you have your kitten." Tony looked at her for a moment before setting his glass down and walking over to her.

"I also have my Pepper." Tony said bringing his hands to her waist and pulling her to him. "I'll always have my Pepper, no matter what." She smiled at him before leaning forward in a kiss. "There's nothing I can say?"

"Tony no." Pepper chuckled before turning back to her closet in search of shoes. "This will be good for everybody. All you guys together again."

"Well not everyone, Thor's wherever Thor goes when he's not here." Tony said and as if on cue lightning struck.

"Actually, I called Jane." Pepper said poking her head from out the closet. "Thor and she will be here."

"You just thought of everything, didn't you?" Tony asked and Pepper smiled before slipping back into the closet. "Is there a reason you invited everyone tonight, because if you're leaving me I think I'd like to do that in private."

"Oh Tony, if I leave you, don't worry, it'll be a production." Pepper replied and Tony laughed for a moment before he thought about what she just said.

"A production?" Tony asked. "You mean like papers, magazines, all the dead bodies you're going to raise them up?" Pepper laughed from the closet. "We're never breaking up, you know that don't you?!"

Katie looked at herself in the mirror. She really did hate dressing up. The dress she wore wasn't really fancy, but given the short notice it would just have to do. She combed her fingers through her loose curls before letting out a loud sigh.

"Please stop doing that." Clint said walking out of the bathroom as he buttoned his gray shirt. Katie turned to him with wide eyes as she watched him. He turned to her noticing the look. "What?"

"You cut your hair, and you shaved." Katie said noticing how Clint's shaggy hair had returned to it's short and neat past and the slight stubble on his face was completely gone.

"Oh, yeah " Clint said rubbing his hand along his chin. "What do you think?"

"You look fine." Katie said with a slight smile that Clint could tell wasn't completely honest. "You look like you. Like agent you." she turned back to the mirror and smoothed out her dress. "I guess we really are back. Like nothing's changed." Clint walked over and wrapped his arms around her from behind, his hands rest above her stomach.

"Something's change." Clint said before pressing a kiss to her neck. "A year ago I wasn't the luckiest man in the world." He brought his chin to her shoulder and look to at her in the mirror. "We will get it back, I promise." Katie sighed loudly as she let herself fall back into his arms. "Until then we have to go to this party."

"But I don't wanna." Katie whined before turning to him. "How the hell did we get roped into this again?" Clint cleared his throat nervously before turning his back to her.

"I told you, Pepper came over, had this idea about a party and you know I'm not good with people so I just said yes." Clint said as he grabbed his jacket from the bed. "We'll be in and out."

"Well we better be, because I was looking forward to a night in sweats watching movies with a certain someone." Katie said walking past him. "So much for the plan." Clint just laughed as he followed behind her.

They were riding the elevator up to the penthouse, when it stopped, a familiar face walking on.

"Hey guys," Steve said walking on, looking quite sharp in a dark blue dress shirt and black pants. "Good, you guys didn't bring anything either. I was feeling guilty."

"Don't feel guilty, you don't bring things to a Stark party." Katie said laughing. "They'll never get used because Tony's so picky." Steve simply shook his head as he looked at the pair. Clint stood with an arm around Katie's waist, the smile on his face never wavering.

"You guys look good. I guess a little time away did you good?"

"You can say that." Clint replied as the doors opened. They were struck with the sight of familiar faces and soft jazz.

"There they are!" Pepper said and soon all eyes turned to them as the stepped off of the elevator. Pepper almost ran over to them smiling widely before bringing Katie into a hug Katie didn't expect. "Oh, it's so good to see you.” Katie looked slightly at a loss before plastering on a smile as Pepper pulled away. "Alright, so there are drinks and h'orderves, dinner should be out soon. Mingle and have fun." Clint and Katie both smiled before sharing a look.

"She actually looked happy to see me." Katie whispered. "You think she's drunk already?" Clint just shrugged his shoulders as they mixed into the party.

"Lady Katherine!" Thor's voice boomed as he walked over to her. He brought her into a tight hug, lifting her off her feet.

"Hey, buddy." Katie said struggling to breathe as she gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Alright, that's enough big guy." Clint said pulling Katie away.

"My apologies, it just feels like it's been ages since we last saw each other." Thor said his smile bright, making you forgive anything he'd done instantly. "How have you been?"

"Great," Katie said looking over to Clint. "Really great." Clint brought an arm around her waist and pulled her to his side.

"Well if it isn't secret agent dude and the kick-ass computer geek." a voice said from behind them. Clint and Katie turned to see the wide smile of none other than Darcy Lewis and Jane Foster.

"Darcy!" Jane said nudging the woman slightly.

"Hey, they know it's all with love." Darcy said giving each of them a hug.

"Well it's good to see you guys." Jane said pulling Katie into a hug. "It's been forever since we saw each other."

"Yeah, it seems like yesterday we were beamed up to Asgard and pulled into some alien war." Katie said chuckling turning to Thor. "I still can't quite believe you exist."

"And I you." Thor said with a slight nod of his head. Katie smiled before scanning the room.

"Looking for someone?" Jane asked.

"Yeah, just my brother." Katie said.

"Matt?" Darcy asked excitedly and Katie turned to her, surprised. "I mean, uh Matthew your little brother."

"You know Mattie?"Katie asked.

"This last year we've practically been living here. Tony invited me to work with him and Dr. Banner and it was sort of an opportunity I couldn't pass up." Jane replied with a wide smile. "It's been different."

"That I believe." Katie said before letting her eyes wander again. She finally spot him, just as he was stepping out onto the balcony. "There he is." she turned to Clint. "I'll be right back." Clint pressed a kiss to her cheek, before letting her go. He watched as she sifted through the party before going out onto the balcony.

Katie found Matthew looking out into the beautiful New York landscape. She looked out for a moment and admired the sight of the city at night before turning back to her brother.

"Hey Mattie." Matthew turned to her with an annoyed look before moving to leave, but Katie sidestepped him to block his path.

"Move." he ordered angrily, but Katie simply folded her arms over her chest.

"No, I'm not going to move until you talk to me."

"What's there to talk about?" Matthew asked angrily. "I mean talking changes nothing, talking doesn't undo the fact that you went off and got married without even a call to your brother."

"And I'm sorry, it just all happened so fast. There was no time to stop and plan." Katie said. "Look, please believe me when I say that if I could do it again, I definitely would've wanted you there."

"Doesn't matter now, what's done is done." Matthew said before trying to move again, but Katie blocked him. "Katie, will you just let me go." He really was mad if he was calling her Katie. "I could care less about what you do with your life, or the asshole you choose to share it with. I mean here I was thinking this is what families did. They share the big moments and you didn't even let me in."

"Mattie, I'm sorry. I wish I could do some things over, but I can't. This is how it is, Clint's my husband, your brother in law. He's your family now, and I just want us to, well be a family."

"Wow, I think I've been hitting too much of the sauce." A voice said from behind them. Katie and Matthew both turned to see Tony standing there with a slight deer in the headlights look. "Because I could've sworn I just heard you say that Clint is your husband." Katie closed her eyes and sighed.

"Tony—" she took a step forward, but Tony simply held up a hand before turning and walking off.

"How's your happy family looking now?" Matthew asked before moving around her, back into the party.

Katie stood there alone, trying to will tears not to fall, but once again, as if of their own free will were slipping down her cheeks.

"Shit!" she cursed before bringing her hands to her eyes. She was only there for a few moments before she heard yelling from inside the party. She quickly ran back inside, where she saw that everything and everyone had stopped, their eyes on Pepper and Tony.

"So you knew, and didn't tell me?" Tony asked angrily.

"I don't see what the big deal is Tony!" Pepper snapped. "Unless-" she tilted her head slightly before shaking her head. "Unless there's another reason this is upsetting you.

"Oh, for fucks sake Pepper, don't start this again!" Tony snapped, his voice a little harsher than he intended, but he was upset and right now it was just coming out on anyone and everyone in the vicinity.

"Ok, I won't." Pepper said unusually calm before sitting down her glass and walking toward the elevator.

"Pepper—" Tony said watching her walk away. "Pepper, wait don't-"

Katie quickly sifted through the crowd to catch up to Pepper. As soon as the doors open Pepper, stepped inside and Katie slipped on as well.

"Kat!" Clint called after her. She simply held up a hand, to signal that she'd be right back just as the doors closed.

"Katie, I'm fine really, I just need to step away from the situation." Pepper said still trying to remain calm and strong. Katie watched as her fingers twitched slightly at her side.

"It's not what you think." Katie said and Pepper turned to her. "And before you say anything, I do know what you're thinking and when it has to do with the man you love and another woman, your mind goes there. I'm just telling you that's not what this."

"Then what is it?" Pepper asked. "Because I've been racking my brain trying to figure it out. I mean Tony tries to reassure me and even you've tried, but then something like this happens and he gets upset. He—" she closed her eyes and turned away. "It was jealousy, that's what that was."

"You're right." Katie said and Pepper opened her eyes. "That was jealousy, but not that jealousy. It's why I was worried about telling him. Tony's finding it difficult not to look at me and not see that woman he kept locked away in his basement and had all to himself. You know he's not good with losing people and this—" Katie shook her head. "He thinks he's losing me. A friend. His friend."

"I just—" Pepper shook her head before both women stopped as the lights in the elevator flicker above them. Katie quirked an eyebrow. "That's never happened before."

"Because that's not supposed to happen." Katie said. "JARVIS, what's going on?"

"I am not sure. My system seems to be malfunctioning." JARVIS replied. Katie's brow furrowed in confusion, before chill crept down her spine.

"JARVIS, let us off the elevator!" Katie said, but this time he didn't reply. "JARVIS!"

"What's happening?" Pepper asked now getting worried as well. Katie turned to her and just shook her head.

"I don't know." Katie said when finally the elevator stopped moving. Both women stood silently waiting. Soon the doors open and both women were immediately assaulted with the smell of blood and gun powder.

"Oh my god." Pepper said bringing a hand over her mouth as she looked out into the tower's lobby to see bodies lining the ground. "What—" her words were cut off by whistling. Katie reached out and grabbed Pepper's arm pulling her back.

"JARVIS close the elevator." Katie whispered and once again the AI didn't answer. "JARVIS!"

"I'm sorry, JARVIS isn't here at the moment." a gravely British voice spoke as loud footsteps moved closer to them. Soon a bald man appeared in front of them, his once clean tailored black suit now stained with blood. "But I'm here, what can I do for you, Luv?" Katie's fist clench at her side and the man shook his head before snapping his finger. Soon more men appeared, all with guns aimed at Katie and Pepper.

"Who are you?" Katie asked trying to keep herself between the man and Pepper.

"Oh, I'm the Reaper sweetheart," the man said before he quickly shot out a hand and wrapped it around her neck. He squeezed slightly making it hard for her to breathe. Katie pulled at his hand as he lifted her off the ground. "But you can call me Kane." he nudged his head to Pepper and soon men ran in grabbing her and pulling her from the elevator. He looked up into Katie's darkened eyes as she tried pulling at his hand. He reached into his pocket for his phone with his free hand before pressing a button and bringing it to his ear. "Yeah, I got her," he leaned into Katie. "Sparrow, was it?"


	22. Chapter 22

There isn't a word to describe feeling a multitude of emotions all at once. Maybe there was no one word that could encompass such a feeling. It was strange really, how Clint went from feeling just one emotion to feeling many. He was standing there in the aftermath of Tony's blowout and Pepper storming off, wondering if he should leave. Katie had went off to try and talk to Pepper and he wasn't sure what he should be doing.

"I always knew a Tony Stark party was more exciting firsthand than the crap they write in magazines." Darcy whispered over to him. He looked over to her with an unamused look and she simply shrugged before hovering back to where Jane and Thor stood. Clint looked over to Tony who was pouring himself yet another drink and for the life of him he didn't know why he did it, but he walked over.

"Don't you think you've had enough?" Clint asked and Tony lifted his head and scoffed before downing the liquid that was in the glass. "Is it really that big of a deal?"

"I'm sorry, have we entered some alternate universe where you believe we're friends who converse regularly?" Tony asked grabbing the bottle of scotch and emptying it into his glass. "How about you do yourself a favor and walk away there hawkboy."

"I'm surprised she made it this long without leaving your pathetic ass." Clint muttered turning away, but Tony heard every word.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Tony asked closing the distance between him and the archer. "You want to run that by me again?"

"Hey!" Bruce said coming over. He'd been watching the pair for a while, waiting for just this moment. "Let's just cool it, ok."

"No, the fucking bird man has something to say, and I think he should say it!" Tony snapped taking a step closer, only for Bruce to raise his arm and push him back.

"Hey, I'd be happy to. I said I'm surprise Pepper made it this long without leaving your pathetic ass!" Clint replied his eyes glaring holes in the scientist. "I mean it takes a special person to hook themselves with a guy whose pining away for another woman."

"Eat me!" Tony seethed and Clint took a step forward only for Steve to appear from somewhere and pull him back. The pair struggled to be released when something happened that no one expected. The lights flickered. Everyone stopped and lifted there heads to the lights above them.

"Uh, Thor, was that you buddy?" Darcy asked looking over to the Asgardian.

"I'm afraid not lady Darcy." Thor replied before lifting his hand calling for the mjlonir. Once his hammer was in his hand, Thor looked to his friends. "I fear something is not right."

"Well you're not the only one." Steve said as the lights continued to flicker. He looked over to Tony who looked just as confused as everyone. "Stark, what's happening?"

"I don't—" Tony tried thinking, though his mind was a drunken mess. "If it's a storm, it shouldn't effect the reactors like this."

"Then what else could it be?" Steve asked and Tony pulled from Bruce's grasp sitting down his glass. "JARVIS, what's happening with the lights?"

"I'm sorry, sir...I can't—I—"

"JARVIS?" Tony asked only to get no reply. "JARVIS, answer me!" still nothing. "Shit." he walked over to his holocomputer and tried bringing up JARVIS’ mainframe. When he began searching for a source of the malfunction, the screen began flickering before it along with the lights went off. Just as quick as they went off, the back up generator started bringing only dim lights.

"Stark?"

"Cap, will you let me think?!" Tony snapped trying to search his brain for an answer. "This isn't possible. I tested and retested the arc and Katie did the numbers. The only way this could be happening is if someone—" and that's when it hit him. That's when Tony realized what was happening. "Fuck!" he suddenly ran to the elevator, pressing the button.

"You want to share with the rest of the class, Stark?" Clint asked not sure what was happening.

"My tech is perfect, it doesn't glitch unless someone makes it glitch." Tony said repeatedly pressing the button.

"Wait, are you saying JARVIS has been hacked?" Bruce asked. "Why—" Bruce stopped because that's when it hit him. That's when it hit all of them.

"Kat." Clint whispered before walking over to Tony. "Open it!"

"What the fuck do you think I'm doing?" Tony asked before stopping. "If JARVIS is down, then everything is down. He controls everything." Clint pushed the man aside and tried to pry the doors open with his fingers.

"Cap, Thor, come help me with this!" Clint called.

"And what are you going to do, jump down thirty floors?" Tony asked before turning to Thor. The only one of them who didn't have to be stuck in this room. "Thor get downstairs and make sure Katie and Pepper are alright." Thor nodded before he ran out to the balcony and jumped.

The god landed in the middle of the street, the concrete literally shattering under his weight. He heard their screams instantly.

"Someone help us!" Pepper screamed and Thor looked up to see two men carrying her and stuffing her in the back of large vehicle. Katie was being carried, her body limp in the arms of a man.

"You will let them go!" Thor's voice boomed and the men stopped. They were henchmen, that much he knew. It was the man who seemed to strut over to him, Thor knew was the leader.

"Thor, God of Thunder." the man hissed, his accent thick. Thor watched him closely as he gripped his hammer tightly. "You know once upon a time your mere presence shocked the nation." Kane chuckled, something a foe of Thor never should do because in the end he'd have the last laugh.

"I think you should recognize you bilgesnipe," Thor said, an insult that seemed to go right over the man's head. "This situation you're placing yourself. Where you stand between me and those maidens is not a place you should be." Thor took a step, easily towering over the man. He made himself look even more menacing, something that would make any man cower. And yet the man in front of him stood his ground.

"Like I said once upon, we were baffled by you." The man said before looking around Thor. Thor followed his line of site to another man who was holding a very large weapon.

"You think your midgardian weapon can—" a blast came from the gun, hitting Thor square in the chest and he couldn't explain it. It felt as if his insides were on fire, causing him to drop to his knees in pain.

"I think it's laughable that you would think after all of these years, you and your buddies can just come to our planet and sooner or later we wouldn't be prepared." Kane said giving Thor's shoulder a squeeze before pushing the man to the ground. He looked over to the man holding the gun. "Nice shot, now move. I want to be out of here in two minutes." the man nodded before running over to the other. Kane dropped his head to Thor who laid sprawled on his back as a state of paralysis took over his body. "I hope Banner is better because if you're the cream of the crop, then our plans for the world are looking pretty bright." and with that Kane turned and stalked back toward the vans where Katie and Pepper had been stuffed inside. One minute, forty six seconds later, they were pulling off leaving a Norse god lying in the street.

It didn't take long for crowds to gather around Thor looking on in both curiosity and fear at the unmoving god. Soon a black SUV pulled up outside of the tower and out ran Natasha and Mason. They pushed through the crowd and stopped dead in their tracks.

"See what happens when we're late to the party?" Mason said as they looked down to Thor.

"Get them out of here!" Natasha ordered before stepping forward and crouching beside Thor. "Hey, what happened, do we have another alien problem?"

"No," Thor grit through his teeth. "This was done by a midgardian." Natasha looked to him confused before looking up to the tower and finally noticing the lights of the building off.

"Fuck." Natasha said slipping her phone from her pocket and pressing it to her ear. She heard sirens and turned as the cops drove in. She turned as Mason ran over to her crouching beside her.

"You're going to want to see this." Mason said and the seriousness in the man's eyes let her know that she probably wasn't going to like what she saw. She glanced down to Thor before standing to her feet and walking over to tower's lobby. The moment she stepped through the door, she clasped the back of her hand to her nose, the smell of blood so strong. The sight in front of her was gruesome, bodies strewn about with bullet holes in them.

"Rome, we've seen this before." Mason whispered over to her as cops and EMT's ran past them to find any survivors. "This was done quick, and—"

"Messy." Natasha said before turning and stalking back out the door. The moment her feet were outside there was a strike of lightening and thunder, before rain poured down. Mason stepped behind her and they both looked up to the sky. "We need to find the others." Mason nodded before watching Natasha walk back over to Thor. "It's going to be alright."

"No," Thor said his eyes turning to meet Natasha's. "They took her." Natasha looked slightly confused before a sudden realization hit her.

"Katie?"

"Yes and Lady Pepper." Thor answered. Suddenly the phone she'd been gripping rang and she quickly brought it to her ear.

"Yeah."

_"Nat, it's me, something's happened." Clint said quickly._

"I know." Natasha replied. "I'm outside of the tower, where are you?"

_"I'm inside of the tower." Clint said. "Look Kat, I think she's in danger. You have to get her to safety." Natasha was quiet for a moment because she knew the moment the words passed through her lips he was going to become a different person. "Nat did you hear me?"_

"Barton, I'm sorry—"

_"What? No!” she heard heavy breathing from his side of the phone._

"Barton I—"

_"Get me the fuck out of this tower!" Clint ordered before ending the call._

Natasha placed a hand on Thor's chest as she looked around to see the police taping off the area and pushing people back. Her eyes looked down to her phone and knew she was going to have to make the call. She pressed a single button before bringing the phone back to her ear. It only rang once before it was answered.

_"This is Coulson."_

"Sir, something's happened and I—" Natasha let out a shaky breath. "I don't know what to do?"

The others turned and stared at Clint who looked to his phone before throwing it at the wall, letting it shatter into hundreds of pieces.

"No," Tony said standing there looking at the man. He didn't need him to say it. They were gone.

"Tony," Bruce said walking up beside his friend. "In the extreme case that JARVIS could be compromised, did you create an override function?"

"Uh—" Tony brought a hand over his eyes trying to think, something that was proving difficult. "Yeah, yeah I did." he turned and looked over to Bruce. "There is a master override program I can initiate that can kick JARVIS from the controls, but all data connected with him will be gone too, which is pretty much everything."

"Right now we need to get out of here so we can find them." Bruce said handing Tony his phone. Tony nodded before typing in a few keys. Once the last function was complete, the lights to the tower came back on and the elevator doors slid open. They all ran to step inside, well all but Matthew who stood frozen in the same place he'd been since the lights went out. The others stood on the elevator, impatiently waiting for the doors to slide open, once they did they almost wished that they didn't.

"Freeze!" officers yelled surrounding the elevator, their guns pointed high. Tony moved to step forward, and looked around the lobby at the bodies.

"It's fine," Tony said looking up to one of the officers. "We're the victims." it was a statement Tony never thought he would ever hear slip past his lips, but there it was.

The next couple of hours were a blur. It was as if someone had just pressed the fastforward button, because no one could find themselves to be in that moment. No one wanted to be in this moment. The moment where the one thing they wanted not to happen, the one thing they specifically wanted not to happen, happen. They were questioned by the police, asked the same questions over and over again. None of them missed the looks they were given. It was the looks given by the police and the people outside. How could the Avengers, the ones who battle beings from different planets, fall victim to a a mere human? Once the bodies were cleared up and investigators gathered all necessary evidence, the lobby was quarantined off and was to remain off limits until the investigation was over.

Bruce took Thor up to the medical bay, unsure of what he could do for the man, but he would at least try. Jane and Darcy went as well, while the others went down to Tony's lab. Tony was busy swiping files while everyone waited for something. That was the one thing everyone was aware of. Two people who meant so much to them were just gone and they had nothing. Clint stood watching Tony hoping the man could find something before turning to Natasha who stood off by herself, her phone pressed against her ear. She knew something and so Clint walked over. The moment she saw him coming to her, she said something before ending the call.

"Hey, got something?"

"Nope, but I think you do." Clint said his eyes watching everything she did. Natasha was a woman who didn't have many tells when she was lying, but Clint had known her long enough to know when she was. She turned away from him. "Nat, what do you know?"

"I don't know anything." she whispered turning back to him. "I just have a feeling." That was new. Natasha wasn't one who relied heavily on emotions, but when she did they were usually right. "Up there, that brutal, _'look at what I can do_ ' scene in the lobby, it looked too blatant. Too attention getting. Whoever did that wanted an audience, wanted acknowledgment. That's what you get with something that messy."

"You know who did this?"

"No, but I suspect someone. Someone you know." Natasha replied and Clint waited for her to continue. "Madrid, Operation Hamlet. Someone was after the general's son and everywhere he went he left a bloody mess behind him until he found him." Clint turned away in realization. "It looks like the handy work of the Reaper."

"Marcus Kane." Clint muttered before bringing his hand to try to soothe his headache. "Nat, if Kane has Kat, then—" he looked back up to her with a look that made even Natasha's heart break a little. "This guy is a professional, and no one, not even SHIELD has been able to catch him."

"Son of a bitch!" Tony snapped before turning and flipping over a nearby table.

"Stark, what happened?" Steve asked running over.

"Nothing, there's nothing. I programmed JARVIS in everything and without him I have nothing. I can't track Katie's bracelet, and I can't find them." Tony let out a deep breath before turning and stalking over to his office and slamming the door behind him. Steve turned to Natasha and Clint and walked over.

"There has to be something that can be done?" Steve asked turning to Natasha. "Are there any leads?"

"One," Natasha said glancing over to Clint before turning back to the captain. "A hit man who strikes always leaving behind a bloody body count."

"Like upstairs?" Steve said and Natasha nodded. "Name?"

"Marcus Kane, aka the Reaper." Clint replied. "This guy's ghost. We have nothing because he won't let us have anything."

"Well then lets not start with him." Steve replied. "Let's find out how he found Katie when no one but us knew she was here. I'm going to talk to Tony, see if I can calm him down so he can get us a copy of the visitor log of the tower." Natasha and Clint nodded before watching the man leave. Natasha turned, letting her eyes can over the lab.

"What are you looking for?" Clint asked.

"Mason, he said he was going to check on something and then he'd be down." Natasha said.

Matthew had finally moved and couldn't go anywhere but outside. He rode the elevator to the roof, where Tony had built a massive greenhouse that was filled with flowers and other plants. His phone he held gripped in his hand vibrated and he quickly brought it to his ear.

"You bastard, did you have something to do with this?!" Matthew snapped "Don't play dumb with me, because this isn't a coincidence...My sister is gone!" he listened to something and he scoffed. "Well someone did, I want whoever you have working around the clock to find out what happened!" he ended the call and turned to go back into the tower only to run into Rick.

"That sounded like a very interesting phone call," Mason said looking over Matthew. "What was it about?"

"Nothing." Matthew said before moving to go into the lobby, but Mason moved to block him. "Would you move, I need to find out if the others have any leads."

"Who was on the phone Mattie, and why did you think they had something to do with this?" Mason asked and Matthew met his eyes. "Yeah I heard you. You should take your super secret phone calls away from lingering ears, now answer the question."

"I don't have to answer anything." Matthew nearly growled before once again trying to move past the agent, but Mason grabbed his arm and forcefully pulled the man back. Matthew pulled out of the man's grasp before pushing Mason hard.

"Oh, this is not a fight you want!" Mason snapped, taking a step to close the distance between him and Matthew.

"Actually I'm in a beat the shit out of something kind of mood." Matthew said rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. The pair was about to exchange blows, but were interrupted.

"Hey!" Natasha yelled running out to them. "What the hell are you guys doing?"

"Ask little brother here," Mason replied still glaring at the man. "I just heard him ask someone if they had something to do with all of this." Natasha turned to Matthew with a questioning look. "I was just about to figure out what until you came over."

"Matthew," Natasha said her tone unmistakeable. The next words out of his mouth were going to have to be the truth.

"Fine," Matthew replied. "We need to talk." He turned a glare to Mason. "Alone."

"Listen, you—"

"Mason get inside." Natasha ordered and Mason turned to argue, but the woman simply turned her eyes to him and it was a look he'd seen many times. There was no room for argument.

"Aw, you're a lucky man Mattie." Mason said before turning and heading back into the tower. The moment he was gone, Natasha turned back to Matthew with an expectant look.

"So?" she questioned impatiently.

"Alright, before I say this, I want you to just listen, don't say anything." Matthew said, which only made the woman more nervous. "This last week I wasn't on some island having the best vacation ever. I was grabbed before I even got on the plane."

"By who?"

"My old bosses." Matthew replied running his fingers through his hair. "I didn't get it. I mean I went through the release process. Signed every dotted line and crossed every tee, but there they were with a blindfold throwing me in the back of some van."

"Well the CIA were always tricky bastards." Natasha said. "What did they want?"

"What does everyone want these days?" Matthew asked with a shake of his head. "My damn sister."

_Women in bikinis. That was the single thought that floated through his mind at the moment. Matthew had just passed through the metal detector without a hitch, when a security guard came over._

" _Sir, we're going to need you to come with us." he said and Matthew groaned in annoyance._

" _Are you fucking kidding me? My flight leaves in ten minutes!" he snapped._

" _Well if you want to be on it, you're going to have to come with me." the guard replied. Matthew shook his head before begrudgingly following after the guard. The walk was unusually long, and it wasn't until he saw a door marked exit that he got suspicious._

" _Hey, where are you taking me?" Matthew asked, but the guard didn't reply. The guard opened the exit and held it open for Matthew to go through. "What the hell is this?"_

" _You know what this is Agent Black." The guard said surprising Matthew. He looked to the door suddenly realizing what this was. "Now go through the door." Matthew wanted to turn and run, but knew that wasn't an option at the moment. They planned for this. Planned for every possible scenario, so him just getting out of here would be next to impossible. He looked over his shoulder to see an empty hallway._

" _Next to impossible, but not impossible." Matthew muttered as he turned back to the guard who just held the door._

" _I wouldn't run. I think you're going to want to hear what they have to say." the guard said knowing from Matthew's hesitation and his subtle glances, what Matthew was thinking._

" _And why is that?" Matthew asked._

" _Because it concerns your sister." the guard replied and that definitely got Matthew's attention. "So how about you go through the door, because there won't be any vacations for you today." Matthew glared at the man, but knew that he wasn't turning around. He zipped up his jacket and stalked toward the door. Once his foot touched the outside a black cloth bag was tossed over his head before something hard hit the back of his head and the next thing he remembers is waking up cold._

_He was in a room that was illuminated by a single light bulb. Matthew rubbed his eyes before bringing a hand to massage his bruised head._

" _That was unnecessary!" Matthew snapped as he stood to his feet. "I already know it's you, I've done that op with you guys!" he could've sworn he heard laughing coming from somewhere and he groaned. "Can we just move this along, I still have hope that I can see at least one nude beach before my vacation is up." the door to the room was pushed opened and he heard high heeled feet. It wasn't until the woman came close to the light, did he figure out who she was. The moment he saw her face, he couldn't contain his laughter. "Candy, you're leading this op?" he shook his head. "The agency must be falling on desperate times." He heard more laughing again, but it wasn't from the woman standing in front of him. She looked at him with a scowl that could probably make an onion cry._

" _Agent Black—"_

" _Matthew, I'm not an agent anymore, you know this Candy." he said walking over to her. "And if you wanted to see me, you know all you had to do was ask." That last part didn't hide it's suggestive nature and the woman in front of him did what he didn't expect. She pulled her fist back and through right in his face knocking him on the ground._

" _Call me Candy again, I dare you!" she said moving to stand over him. "Get your shit together and meet me in interrogation."_

" _Am I being accused of something Can—" he stopped when he saw her eyes darken. "Agent Calder?"_

" _No, but it has come to our attention that you may be able to shed some light on certain details of an ongoing investigation." Agent Calder replied before turning and heading back to the door._

" _An investigation into my sister?!" he called after her as he stood to his feet._

" _Interrogation, Agent Black. There, all will be revealed." and with that she stepped through the door._

" _That's my line!" Matthew grumbled as he held a hand to his now sore eye. "Get your own line! Can I get an ice pack or something!?"_

_The next room he found himself in was a room he was very familiar with. The room with the table, two chairs, and a two way mirror. It was their more humane interrogation room. He walked in to see Calder already seated on one side of the table and he figured he'd sit on the other side._

" _You know these seats are more comfortable then I remember." Matthew said looking up to the two way mirror. "You should do something about that Jack!"_

" _Agent Black—"_

" _Will you stop with the Agent Black shit?!" Matthew snapped turning back to Calder. "I'm no longer an agent, and I was made to believe that because of that I wouldn't have to deal with shit like this."_

" _C'mon Black, you know there is no truly leaving the agency." Calder said folding her hands over the table. It was then that Matthew noticed the folder that sat beneath her hands._

" _You said this was about my sister." Matthew said. Calder opened the folder and pulled out a stack of papers._

" _These are transcripts from the monitoring of our foreign allies and counter agencies." Calder said as she slid the papers in front of Matthew. "If you note the highlighted area, you'll see what they all have in common." Matthew picked up the papers and on each one mentioned the word “Sparrow”. He sat the papers down and looked over to the woman._

" _I'm still not sure what this has to do with my sister." Matthew replied sliding the papers over to her._

" _You don't?" Calder asked and Matthew simply shrugged. "You are aware that with that gigantic fuck up of SHIELD and HYDRA, came an abundance of secrets that was shared with the world?" she opened the file again and slid over a paper. This one was an employee file from SHIELD on his sister. "Guess what your sister's code name was?" Matthew dropped his eyes to his sister's picture before looking back up to Calder._

" _I'm not doing this with you," Matthew said before looking up to the two way mirror. "You want to talk Jack, you bring your ass out here!"_

" _Agent Black—"_

" _You know what!" Matthew snapped standing to his feet and sliding the table that separated them away leaving nothing between them. Calder stood to her feet and backed away. "You're really pissing me off." Matthew backed the woman against the wall._

" _Matthew, step back or I will hit you again!" Calder said and Matthew just shook his head._

" _Oh, Candy this really isn't a fight you want to have." Matthew replied before turning to the mirror. "You better get out here Jack, because you and I both know that I'm not that much of a gentleman," he turned back to Calder. "I will hit a woman." the door to the room suddenly pushed opened and in walked a gray haired, Agent David Jackson. And he wasn't looking happy at all._

" _Get the fuck away from her Banks!" Jack snapped and Matthew held up his hands as he moved away from her. "Calder, you never let a suspect get that close to you. You take him down the moment he disobeys an order!"_

" _But sir, he's—"_

" _He's been gone for two years, we don't know who he is." Jack said glaring over to Matthew. "Let's cut the crap, where's your sister?"_

" _Sorry, don't know." Matthew said with a shrug and that's when Jack stalked over to him, but Matthew stood his ground. The men engaged in what looked like an extreme staring contest before Jack finally spoke._

" _Your sister's name is popping up all over the place and I want to know why." Jack replied. "You're going to tell me where she is."_

" _No I'm not Jack, because I really don't know where she is." Matthew said. "My sister is hiding from everything, and the last thing a person does who doesn't want to be found is tell anyone where she's going."_

" _Do you have a way to contact her?" Jack asked and Matthew folded his arms over his chest. "Listen Matt, the only thing I'm concerned about is another fuck up, only this one will have our name on it. They're riding us hard up there in the Pentagon and this—" he turned and picked up one of the papers that had fell to the floor. "Your sister being the chatter among some of the most ruthless and dangerous terrorist organizations in the world screams fuck up. I know you want to protect your sister, but if she's into something—"_

" _She's not," Matthew interrupted. "She's not into anything, this isn't about her."_

" _Then tell me what this is about?" Jack asked. Matthew turned away for a moment. He was trying to decide how much he should say, but if Katie's trouble was getting this deep then maybe it was time to let some people in._

" _Cynthia Chambers." Matthew said turning back to the agent. "She is my sister's birth mother that we all thought died giving birth, but all of a sudden these people started coming after my sister because they think Cynthia is still alive."_

" _Who is Cynthia Chambers?"_

" _I don't know!" Matthew snapped. "You're the agent, how about you find out before she gets my sister killed."_

Natasha stood there for a moment after hearing Matthew's story, just staring at him. She needed to see if there was a slight twitch, or if he averted his eyes. She needed to see if there was something that told her that he was lying. Matthew stood, his eyes never leaving her and that's how she knew he was telling the truth.

"I thought they were watching me, and when she showed up here they set up some plan to take her." Matthew said.

"You think your people would do something like that?" Natasha asked. "Injure and kill those people, just to get your sister."

"I've seen them do worse in the name of protecting our country." Matthew replied with a shake of his head. "When I called they said they had nothing to do with it."

"Maybe not intentionally." Natasha said and Matthew looked over to her with confusion. "We believe a man whose called The Reaper—"

"Marcus Kane?" Matthew asked and Natasha nodded. "His name came a lot when I was in the agency. He's a gun for hire, why would he—did someone hire him to kill my sister?" Matthew could feel blood boiling at the thought.

"I don't think so. He's a gun for hire, sure, but he's also good at getting things that are hard to find." Natasha said. "If the CIA had their antenna searching for your sister and they got her when she arrived here, then maybe—"

"He hacked the CIA?" Matthew asked and Natasha nodded.

"He hacked Tony, so I'm guessing the CIA was probably a piece of cake." Natasha replied. "We just have to figure out where he took them."

"How do you know he hasn't just handed them over to HYDRA?" Matthew asked.

"Because he's about to find out he’s being underpaid for this job." Natasha replied.

" _If you've been following our coverage of what is now being called the Avengers Tower Massacre, we've just been informed that the suspects have kidnapped Stark Industries acting CEO Virginia Potts. The most surprising information that we've just learned, is that the former Creative Director, Katherine Banks, whom most remember was believed to be dead in a fire was taken as well. The story surrounding that ordeal and how Ms. Banks is alive today is still a mystery. There are still no leads on the suspects or the condition of Ms. Potts or Ms. Banks. We will keep you updated on this matter as it progresses."_

Kane flicked the mute button on the television, his mouth wrapped around his cigar. He sucked in the tobacco smoke before placing the cigar in the ashtray in front of him.

"Do you see what I see?" Kane asked and the man sitting across from him sat up straight and turned to him. "Every news outlet in the world is reporting on the capture of these two women. And out of the pair, whose name is mention more?" the man looked confused as he hesitated with an answer. His boss was a ruthless man who would not think twice about killing him for simply answering his question incorrectly.

"The—the Sparrow?" the man replied sheepishly and Kane smiled wide and wagged a finger to the man.

"That's right." Kane said before standing to his feet. "This whole time I was made to believe that I was capturing some computer geek, but it would seem I have something far more valuable." he turned to the television where Katie's face once again flashed across the screen. "I think a renegotiation is in order."

Pepper banged the palm of her hands against the bars of the cage that she and Katie were tossed into. They were in some kind of warehouse and no one was saying anything to them.

"Somebody help!" she yelled, just as she had been doing since they arrived. "Somebody, please help us!" she shook her head and turned to see Katie still unconscious body lying on the floor. She ran over and crouched down beside her. "Katie you have to wake up." she gently shook Katie's shoulder. "I don't—" she looked around the empty room they were trapped in. "I don't know what to do." she looked back down to Katie. "Please, wake up." Pepper lifted Katie's head to rest in her lap, her eyes going to the bruises on Katie's neck. "Please be alright." she hugged Katie tightly in her arms. "You have to be alright."

A few of Kane's men stood watching as their boss held his phone to his ear, pacing back and forth.

"No, I don't think you understand!" Kane snapped. "I'm the game master now. I hold all the cards and if you don't pay up then your little Sparrow is going to fly the coup and by coup I mean the realm of existence. I gave you the figure, you have twenty four hours." the man ended the call and tossed his phone on the table before picking up his cigar and slipping it between his teeth and inhaling deep. "And now we wait."

Pepper sat nervously rocking back and forth with Katie in her arms. She was at a total loss for what to do. It wasn't until she felt a sudden movement did she begin to feel hope again. Pepper looked down to Katie, just as the woman's eyes snapped open.

"Katie?" Pepper whispered and Katie's eyes seemed to veer back and forth as she remembered the series of unfortunate events that lead them to this moment. Katie sat up and looked around the cage they were in. "Are you alright?" Katie's hand immediately went to her stomach a fearful thought running through her mind.

"We have to get out of here." Katie said standing to her feet and moving to the bars of the cage. "Have they said anything?"

"No, they just put us in here and then disappeared." Pepper replied "But you're awake now, you can get us out of here." Katie didn't say anything and that only made Pepper even more nervous. "Can't you?" Katie looked down to her charm bracelet, moving one of the charms and noticing that there was no blinking light. "Katie?"

"Pepper!" Katie snapped turning to the woman. "I know you're scared, so am I, but we have to stay calm and you have to be quiet so I can think." Katie turned back to the bars grabbing them and trying to jiggle them. Her eyes scan the cage until it sees the lock. "A key, who has the key?" she closed her eyes and dropped her head against the bars. She stands there like that for a few moments before she lifts her head and opens her eyes. "I got it." she turns back to Pepper with a small smile. "I have a plan."

Matthew and Natasha returned back to Tony's lab where they found Clint and Steve standing above Tony who sat in front of a laptop tying away.

"Do we have something?" Natasha asked as they walked over.

"There's no way anyone could've hacked that system. Not with the load of security that Katie and Tony equipped it with." Steve said looking over to her.

"I thought we all came to grips with the fact that the impossible has happened and Tony's wonder firewall, isn't so wonderful." Natasha said folding her arms over her chest. "Someone got in."

"No, someone didn't get in. Someone was already in." Tony said not breaking eye contact with the computer screen. "You see Kitten and I designed the firewall in an attempt to stop those on the outside from getting in, what we didn't prepare for was those who had access from abusing that power."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying spider ninja, that someone under my payroll is responsible for my future wife and my best friend's kidnapping." Tony said before his fingers suddenly stopped. "Son of a bitch." Steve and Clint lean in closer to the screen.

"What is it?" Matthew asks walking around the table to see the screen as well. He leans in to see the face of someone he didn't recognize. "Who the fuck is James Scott?"


	23. Chapter 23

With every high intensity situation, thinking positively could prove to be a positive asset. It was yet another lesson Katie obtained from her time at SHIELD. It was also a lesson she wished someone had taught one Virginia Potts.

"This isn't going to work."

"Yes it is, just stay calm and do everything just like I told you."

"I can't do this, I going to—"

"Virginia Potts, you are the CEO of one of the most influential and profitable companies in the world. You're about to marry a wonderful man who adores you and after being tossed in the back of a van you managed to keep on your shoes."

"Well they're Dolce, and what does that have to do with anything?"

"It means that if there is anyone I would want with me right now, you...you would definitely be on the list. Maybe not at the top, but not at the bottom either. Like the middle, not upper middle—"

"You're not helping."

"Look all I'm saying is that right now you're here with me and we have to get out of here. I have to get out of here because there is something more at stake here."

"What does that mean?"

"It means—" there was movement outside of the door and both women froze. "This is it Pepper, remember what I told you, ok?" Pepper nodded before watching Katie lie back down on the ground closing her eyes. Pepper closed her eyes tightly and thought of a dead puppy before tears formed.

"You can do this Pepper." the woman muttered to herself before going over to the bars and suddenly wailing. "Someone please help us, something's wrong!" the door pushed open and in walked a man hold two bottles of water and what looked like sandwiches. "Oh thank god, you have to help us. She's been out since we were put in here. She hasn't waken up, something's wrong." the man dropped the contents of his hand and walked over to peek inside the cage to see Katie lying on the ground, her body still. "And I checked for a pulse and there wasn't one. She's needs a doctor." the man looked up to the red and puffy eyes of Pepper. "And I know if she's dead your boss will not be happy." the man stood there hesitantly looking between Pepper and Katie before reaching into his holster and pulling out his gun.

"Step back." his deep voice ordered and Pepper raised her hands as she backed away from the bars. The man reached into his pocket pulling out a ring of keys before sticking it into the lock. He only turned it slightly before he was interrupted.

"Hey, was machst du?" a voice yelled from behind him and both he and Pepper turned to see another one of Kane's henchman walking into the room. Pepper's German was a little rusty but she understood the man asking what he was doing.

"Die Blondine sagt der Spatz hat keinen Puls." he said and Pepper scoffed.

"The blonde has a name and yes she has no pulse!" Pepper snapped glancing over to Katie. "You have to do something and quick." The two men shared a look before the man by the cage turned back around and continued to unlock the cage.

"Warten wir zuerst zu sprechen Kane. " the other said causing the man to stop once again. Pepper stood there unsure what the man had said.

"What?" she asked out loud. "Why did you stop, she needs help!" the man stopped and took his hand from the key. "He's leaving."

"Plan B." Katie muttered before jumping to her feet and running over to the front of the cage. The man turned to her his eyes wide. He lifted his gun, but Katie reach out and grabbed his neck before pulling him hard making his face slam against the bars. With him distracted by the pain in his bleeding face, Katie quickly snatched the gun from his hand and aimed it at the other man who stood with his gun aimed at her. "How much do you know about me?" it was a strange question and given the look on the man's face it was one he didn't expect. "I mean I'm sure Kane did his homework, he probably knows more about me than I do, but you, the man who has the pleasure of being on the other end of the gun I just so happen to be holding, how much do you know about me?" he didn't say anything as he just gripped the gun tightly. "You see I don't think you know much, because if you did, you would recognize that on the other end of my gun is the last place you would want to be. We're getting out of here and you will not be an obstacle." She knew what he was going to do. It's what any man would do in his situation who didn't want to be bested by a woman. His finger touched the trigger and before he could even pull it, a bullet had slid right across his neck. He dropped his gun and brought his hands to his neck. Katie met the man's eyes for a full on second before the pain was too unbearable for him to remain conscious, and so he passed out. The other man turned back to her, his face now covered in his own blood. "Open the cage, now!" with a gun aimed right at him, there was only one thing for him to do. He turned the key and open the cage. "Thank you." and without another word Katie slammed the butt of the gun in the man's face knocking him out.

"Wow." Pepper said still trying come to terms with what she just witnessed. "That was—wow."

"We have to move Pepper." Katie said stepping over the man. "Those gun shots made a lot of noise and soon more people with guns are going to be coming and I can't kill them all." she walked over to the man, his neck still bleeding.

"Is he—" Pepper asked and Katie looked over her shoulder to see the woman right behind her.

"No, not yet." Katie said turning back and taking the man's gun from his hand before holding it out to Pepper. Pepper looked down to the gun hesitantly. "Pepper, you have to take this."

"I can't, I—"

"You had a biological weapon injected into you and you killed a psycho with it. This is a gun and you are going to take it because this place is crawling with bad guys." Katie replied and Pepper took the gun. "We are not going to wait to be saved." Pepper met her eyes and they looked to one another. "Right now all we have is one another and that is going to be enough. We are getting out of here, together."

"Ok." Pepper said with a nod.

"And you are going to have to lose the shoes." Katie added and Pepper looked up with a look of shock.

"But they're Dolce!" Pepper whined. Katie simply gave her a look and Pepper just shook her head. "Fine." and with that the woman slipped off the expensive shoes before following Katie. "If we die, you better hope they have those shoes in heaven."

They had a name. A lead. Something that could get their girls back and his name was James Scott. They all stood in front of a screen, the man's picture in front of them.

"Tell me what you know about this guy, Stark." Steve said, looking up to the man's face.

"James Scott, he was hired maybe two and a half years go to be apart of the Creative team over at SI. He was smart, stressing the word was, seeing as he just made the dumbest decision ever by helping get my Kitten and Pepper kidnapped, but I digress. He was a total asshole when Katie was brought in as the Creative Director, and then we found out he was secretly working for Aldrich Killian. Another psycho who thought his wonder drug extremis was going to make him famous, but it killed him in the form of Pepper who was awesome by the way, I wish you guys could've seen the way—" Tony looked over to the unimpressed looks on their faces and just stopped talking.

"So Scott loses one crazy boss to find another?" Matthew asked and he looked up to the man's face. "In the king of all villains, HYDRA?"

"Right now we don't know anything for certain, we're going to need more if we're really going to accuse this guy." Steve said trying to be the level headed on in the bunch.

"I have reason. A man I fired accessed systems he shouldn't even have access to. So that leads me to believe that while he was under my payroll, Mr. Scott was doing something he shouldn't." Tony said turning away from the screen. "This is our guy."

"Tony' s right, this is him. I know it." Clint said his eyes glaring at the photo on the screen. "And it's time I paid him a visit."

"I get you're worried Barton, but I have the suits and I'm faster, so be a good boy and wait here." Tony said turning and unbuttoning his shirt.

"If you think I'm just going to sit here and do nothing while my wife—" Tony turned back to him. "That's right, my wife! And you can be upset that I get to call her my wife, but right now I could give shits what you think. I'm going to find Scott and then I'm going to beat his face in until he either spits his teeth or the truth. I'll be fine with either one."

"Before we beat anyone's face in, can we stop and think about this for a moment?" Steve interjected.

"No!" Clint and Tony said in unison.

"Fine, you come, but you better keep up." Tony said before turning about to get one of his suits.

"Alright boys, glad to know you all have penises, but it wasn't necessary." Natasha said before turning to see Matthew who had been subtly inching toward the elevator. "You can stop as well."

"Nat?" Clint said turning to the woman. "What's going on?"

"I saw this all coming and thought I'd be a little proactive." Natasha said just as the elevator doors opened and out was pushed a bloodied James Scott, followed by Rick Mason.

"There's nothing more invigorating than beating the shit out of a little dick wad like this bastard." Mason said before giving the man a kick the gut.

"Hey!" Steve said. "We don't know—"

"Actually we do captain." Rick said glaring down to the man. "After a couple of rounds with my fist, the little prick started to sing. Why don't you tell them what you told me, Jimmy?"

"Fuck you." James growled through clenched teeth and Mason let out a dry laugh.

"That wasn't it, how about I remind you." Mason said recoiling his fist, but stopping once Natasha touch his arm.

"Let me handle this." Natasha said calmly and Rick simply nodded.

"Oh, you're in for it now boy." Rick said with a shake of his head. Natasha walked over to him, the heels of her boots clicking with every purposeful step before she crouched down to the man's face.

"Hi, I'm going to assume you're aware of our current situation, but in case you aren't, I'll give you the cliff notes version. A man by the name of Marcus Kane, aka the Reaper, walked in here and took two women who mean an awful lot to the people in this room. I know what you're thinking, they're just some girls, right? Wrong, you see those two women are the reason you're surrounded by men who are currently thinking up ways to kill you right now. You not talking is you committing suicide, so be smart Mr. Scott, tell us where they are." James looked into Natasha's eyes and knew every word out of her mouth was truth.

"You want me to talk, I need assurance." James said looking between their faces. "I tell you what I know and I walk out of here."

"That's not happening, I doubt you'll be walking anywhere." Clint snapped taking a step forward only for Steve to hold him back. "If something has happened to my wife, I promise you, you will regret it!" James turned back to Natasha.

"I say nothing if I don't have proof that I walk out of here."

"You want proof?" Tony asked before walking over to the man and grabbing his shirt before pulling him to his feet. "I just stood in the middle of the lobby of my building where my people were shot. How much assurance do you think they had?" Tony threw a punch to the man's face sending him back to the floor. "Look James, you're a smart guy and we can threaten you and we can beat you up until the cows come home, but we don't have that kind of time. There are three people in this room who can kill you with only your thumb, a very upset brother who would probably gut you like a fish given the chance, there's Captain America who says he's for the people but you mess with his friends he will mess up your face." Tony grabbed the man's shirt once again. "And then there's me. My fiancé and my best friend are no where to be found and you know something. I have the resources to make you disappear and make even your parents forget you ever existed. Lets not forget about the hulk and god we have upstairs. So you want assurance, well that too bad because you're not going to get it. Now talk before we just take all of our frustration out on you." James pulled out of Tony's grasp.

"They approached me," James said. "I was fine living miserably, and unemployed with no future in sight thanks to you and that former Creative Director of yours. But one day out of the blue a man approached me."

"What man?" Clint asked.

"I didn't get his name. What I did get was an offer."

"Why kind of offer?" Steve asked.

"A light at the end of a shitty tunnel." James replied. "A job at Cyberteck that was unbelievable and all I had to do was one thing."

"Hand over my wife." Clint asked trying to push past Steve, but it wasn't happening.

"Not exactly," James said before turning to Tony. "Before I left I made sure to take a little insurance. Something to make me more attractive to perspective employers."

"JARVIS."

"Dude you handed him to me on a silver platter when you gave me that job. You handed me a key to the city and I knew it was temporary. I knew Killian was an insane bastard who squandered the opportunity of a life time, but there was no way I was going to walk away with nothing. So I took it. Every string of code I could and that included your precious AI. So when these guys approached me with this job and they told me all I had to do was help them with their Katherine Banks problem, it was fate. I mean here I was with the golden ticket and it was going to get me into the chocolate factory."

"One more metaphor and I'm going to beat you into an oompa loompa!" Mason threatened.

"Where are they?" Tony asked.

"I don't know." James replied and Tony took a step forward, but the man threw up his hands. "That's the truth. I was a part of a plan, not in on it. They used my information and got what they wanted and I start on Monday."

"Sorry, James you're not starting on Monday." Tony said taking out his cell phone. "Actually you're going to be spending the rest of your days in the deepest darkest prison money can buy."

"You make that call and you'll never see them again." James growled and all eyes went to him. "I may not know where they are, but I know how you can find them."

"How?" Tony asked and James folded his arms over his chest. "Do I need to give the speech again about how you're surrounded by death right now?"

"You kill me and any chance you have of getting them back is gone," James replied looking between their faces. "And I get the feeling that's something everyone in this room just doesn't want to happen." The room went quiet as everyone began thinking about their ultimatum. Well almost everyone. "So this is how we're going to—" James didn't finish his sentence, well he couldn't. Because before he could finish, Natasha had grabbed his hand and pulled his index finger so far back until it popped. The man screamed in pain as Natasha twisted the broken finger, making him fall to his knees.

"I find it funny how you think you've gained some kind of upper hand here." Natasha said before she twisted the finger once again, making the man whimper. "This was one finger and from the sounds of it, it hurts like hell. Now you have nine more of these little guys, plus ten toes, teeth, two ears, nipples, hell you have a body part I'm sure you couldn't live without, that I will have no problem removing from your body. You have no cards on the table because if you don't talk we just find another way, another lead. So talk, don't talk, it's up to you, what do you say?" James let out out a hiss, as he tried to contain himself. That one broken finger was the worst pain he'd ever felt and he couldn't handle more.

"I have a copy of the drive I gave to them." James said.

"So what?"

"If they're leaving they're fingerprints on JARVIS, I should be able to track them." Tony said walking over to the man. "Where is it?"

"Pocket." James grimaced. Tony simply reached into the man's pocket, pulling out a ring of keys and a lone blue and yellow flash drive.

"Alright, this is something." Tony said before turning and heading back over to his laptop.

"Now will you let me go?" James asked when Natasha let him go, letting him drop to the floor. He heard a couple of them snort or scoff as if the idea hadn't even crossed their minds. The man just closed his eyes and sighed. Freedom was not in his future.

Jane held Thor's hand as the Asgardian laid in the bed, his eyes closed. The slightly loud snores that escaped his nose were the only hope Jane had to hold onto.

"I found coffee." Darcy said walking in and handing Jane a styrofoam cup. "Has he waken up, yet?"

"No, he's been out for a while." Jane said turning back to him. "I'm starting to get worried."

"I wouldn't." Bruce said walking into the room looking down to a tablet. "All of his tests came back normal, I think?"

"You think?" Jane asked standing to her feet.

"Well Thor's a being from a different realm, so I'm still a little lost on what's normal for him." Bruce said before handing the tablet over to the woman. "But from this, his vitals are all normal."

"Then what happened to him?"

"I think that blast may have just acted as a temporary tranquilizer." Bruce replied looking down to Thor. "I mean given the amount of invasions we've had and the loads of crap those beings left behind, it was only a matter of time before someone started using it or trying to make something of it."

"So he's fine?" Jane asked looking back over to Bruce who nodded. "Good." she dropped her head to Thor and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "How long do you think he's going to be out?"

"Until the effects of the tranquiler wear off," Bruce replied. "And given I have no idea about his anatomy, I can't give you an accurate time frame. Right now, letting him sleep this off might be the best thing for him."

"I'm just not sure he's going think of it that way." Jane said turning back to Bruce. "Ever since this seer or whatever, he's been working tirelessly to figure out what it means. And if this is it. If Katie doesn't survive this and he's not around to at least attempt to stop it, I don't think he would forgive himself." Bruce looked at her for a long moment before turning back to Thor.

"There's always adrenaline." Bruce suggested and Jane and Darcy look over to him. "I mean it would take lots and lots of adrenaline, but it could work."

"Tony has that stuff just lying around?" Darcy asked and Bruce shrugged.

"We keep it on hand in case I have an adverse reaction to my device, or if the big guy stops my heart."

"Does that happen often?" Jane asked. She'd been working for the man for just a couple of months and didn't even know these were issues he dealt with.

"Not that often." Bruce replied. "I think I can scramble up a couple of cc's to give to him." and with that Bruce rushed out of the room.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Darcy asked and Jane just brought her eyes back to her unconscious boyfriend.

"No, I'm not, but I'm following my gut on this one." Jane replied reaching down to take Thor's hand. "You haven't heard the way he talks about this seer's prophecy or whatever." Jane turns to Darcy. "He thinks it could be big. He doesn't know why or even how one woman's death could cause that much trouble, but he does. And if he believes it, then so do I." Jane lowers herself back into her seat beside Thor's bed.

The halls were mysteriously empty. That was the single thought Katie had as she and Pepper skulked down the dark hallways of some abandoned warehouse.

"What is that smell?" Pepper asked for what felt like the one hundredth time. "It's disgusting."

"It's fish." Katie whispered before they walked over to a window and peeked out to see nothing but water. "We're at a cannery. It explains the smell."

"Do you know where we are?" Pepper asked and Katie shook her head.

"No, we just have to focus on one thing at a time. Right now it's finding an exit to this place." Katie said before turning and walking down the hall. "And finding out why all the bad guys are so quiet."

"That's not a good thing?" Pepper asked as she followed behind her.

"No, definitely not a good thing. It's actually a very suspicious thing that scares the shit out of me." Katie replied.

"If we make it out of this I am going to drink this day away." Pepper muttered tiredly.

"And I am going to wish I could join you." Katie muttered and it was the second time she said something that Pepper didn't t quite understand.

"Why won't you—" Pepper stated but stopped instantly. Katie stopped and turned to see the woman staring with wide eyes. "You're pregnant?" Katie rolled her eyes but nodded.

"Yes I am, but now—" Katie's words were cut off by Pepper pulling her into a tight hug. "Pepper we don't have time for a bonding moment."

"You're going to have a baby." Pepper whispered. "That's so wonderful." she pulled back. "Oh, and I was such a bitch."

"Pepper it's fine, I—"

"No, I was so jealous and paranoid and I thought—" she pulled Katie back into another hug. "You really are just his friend, aren't you?"

"Yeah I am." Katie replied bringing her arms around the woman. "I am and I would like to see him and my husband right now, and at some point get to a hospital." Pepper quickly pulled away and looked down with worried eyes. "Something's not feeling right," she looked down to her stomach. "And I'm scared, I—" she looked back to Pepper and took a deep breath. "We have to get out of here Pepper."

"Ok." Pepper said with a firm nod before the two women turned and continued their trek down the hall. They'd been walking for a while when they heard the sound of multiple footsteps. Katie stopped reaching a hand out to stop Pepper. She looked around the hall and saw a door before quickly going over to it. Katie held her gun up high as she slowly pushed open the door. She saw the light from multiple monitors, along with some guy with large headphones oblivious to their presence. Katie looked over to Pepper and waved her over. Both women stepped inside of the room, the man still oblivious. "What are we doing in here?"

"Hiding out and getting answers." Katie whispered as she walked over and pressed her gun to the back of the man's neck. The man froze as she reached forward and removed the headphones from his ears. "Yes, this is a gun and if you speak or move without my permission then you're a dead man. What's your name?"

"Nathan." the young man replied nervously.

"Alright Nathan," Katie said looking up to the monitors when she spotted a familiar string of code. "Where did you get that?"

"Wha—what?" Nathan asked looking up to the screens.

"Monitor four." Katie said and the man looked to the screen. "That's JARVIS' mainframe, something some asshole in a room shouldn't have, so how did you get it?"

"I'm not sure where it came from. Kane gave it to me and told me he wanted eyes in the Stark tower." Nathan said. "All I did was plug in a flash and initiate the program and there it was."

"This flash, is it the only one?" Katie asked and the man shrugged.

"It's what he gave me, whether there are copies, I wouldn't know." the man replied nervously. "Look all I did was—"

"All you did was break the law in various ways." Katie said before pushing the man aside. "Pepper point your gun at him."

"Oh!" Pepper said raising her gun with both hands. "Ok, now what?"

"If he even looks at you funny, shoot him." Katie said sitting her gun down and typing away. JARVIS' code was ridden with trojan horses that Katie worked to try to remove. She was halfway there when something happened. The code she's been working on was gone and soon appeared a face. A familiar face. "Tony?"

"Tony?" Pepper asked walking behind Katie to look at the screen.

"Pep, thank god. Are you guys alright?" Tony asked and soon Clint's face appeared behind him as well.

"I would be better if I wasn't here." Pepper replied with a smile. "It's so good to see your face. I'm so sorry for storming out like that, it was unnecessary and very—"

"Hey, guys make up later." Katie interrupted. "If you're here then you were able to trace JARVIS' code. Do you know where we are?" She watched at Tony typed and then a small smile came over his face.

"Yeah, we're on our way." Tony said before Clint pushed him out of the way.

"Kat, are you alright?" Clint asked and she looked at him for a moment without saying anything. "Kat?"

"I don't know." she whispered and she saw the muscles in his jaw tighten. "Bring Bruce." Clint nodded.

"Everything's gonna be alright, ok." Clint said. "I'm going to find you and everything will be ok."

"Ok, but hurry." Katie said as they heard movement from outside the room. "We have to go."

"Kat, be careful."

"I sort of have to be, right?" Katie replied with a small smile before the video was gone.

"This is good, they're coming for us. We're saved." Pepper said smiling down to Katie.

"This is a part B." Katie said standing to her feet. "We're not going to stop trying to get out of here." she turned to Nathan who sat staring between both women. "And you're going to help us."

"I don't think that's a good idea." Nathan said knowing if Kane even smelled a double cross on him, he'd be dead. "Kane—" Katie grabbed her gun and pointed at the man.

"Kane isn't the one with a gun to your head right now!" Katie snapped. "Right now I'm the Reaper, now get your ass up and lead us out of here."

"That's easier said than done." Nathan said as Katie grabbed his shirt and pulled him to his feet. "If we're caught, we're all dead."

"Then I guess we're just gonna have to not be caught." Katie said as she pushed the man to the door.

Clint sat in front of that computer for all of a minute before he was standing to his feet and moving toward the elevator.

"Hey!" Matthew said running over to Clint. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get Bruce and then we're out of here." Clint said before looking over to Tony. "Text me the location and just go, I don't care who gets there first as long as Kat's safe." Tony nodded before turning and beginning to unbutton his shirt. The elevator doors opened and in walked Clint and Matthew. "You guys coming?" Clint looked out to Rick, Natasha and Steve who stood above James.

"We're going to catch up." Steve said giving the man a nod. "Go." Clint simply nodded before the doors slide closed.

"Why do I get the feeling you're not telling me something?" Matthew asked and Clint didn't turn to him or even reply. "You asked her if she was alright and she said she didn't know, what is that?" still nothing and Matthew was losing his patience. "Will you fucking answer me, if something is wrong with my sister then you better—"

"She's pregnant!" Clint snapped turning to his brother in law. "Katie is pregnant and right now she's trying to find her way out of fucked up situation and she doesn't know if the baby is alright." Clint dropped his head and ran a hand over his eyes. "But the baby has to be alright." he brought his eyes back to Matthew and for the first time Matthew actually saw it. It was the love the man in front of him had for his sister. The elevator doors slid open and Clint turned and stalked off and Matthew turned to follow him. They were on the medical unit when they heard a loud crash. It wasn't until they burst in one of the rooms did they find the source. It was Thor and he seemed a little different.

"Why is the god man smashing the wall with his hammer?" Matthew asked to Bruce who stood on the other side of the room with Darcy and Jane.

"I gave him a very large dosage of adrenaline." Bruce replied. "And now he's doing that."

"Thor!" Clint snapped and the Asgardian stopped, his breath jagged. "We found them. We found Kat and Pepper and we may need your help. So you want to hit something, then come with me."

"That sounds glorious my friend." Thor said with a wide smile as he walked over, everyone in the room taking a slight step back. "When do we depart?"

"Tony's probably on the roof as we speak about to leave, you could—" Before Clint could finish his sentence, Thor had smashed through the window and flew up toward the roof.

"How long do you think it's going to take to wear off?" Jane asked looking over to Bruce and the doctor simply shrugged.

"Doc, we're going to need you." Clint said and Bruce looked over confused.

"I thought we agreed that I shouldn't really be apart of all the guns and violence unless we're dealing with beings from other planets." Bruce said taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "I like to minimize the other guys yard time as much as possible."

"It's not the other guy I need right now." Clint said looking over to the man. Bruce met the man's eyes and saw the fear behind them.

"Right," Bruce said with a nod. "I'll get some supplies and I should be ready to go." Bruce turned and hurried out of the room.

"I'll get the car." Matthew said before turning, but Clint caught his arm.

"No you're going to stay here with them." Clint said glancing over to Jane and Darcy. Matthew turned about to protest, but Clint interrupted. "I will have a lot to worry about and you getting killed will not be one of them. Let us handle this." Clint turned and rushed out the door.

"Matt?" Darcy said walking over to the man. He looked over to her and simply gave her a reassuring nod.

"I have to make a call and then we can go." Matthew replied slipping his cell phone from his pocket and stepping out into the hall. He brought the phone to his ear and waited for an answer. "Hey, it's Black...yeah whatever. For right now, this moment, I am back and I need some back up." he heard the roar of thunder outside. "Something big is about to go down and my sister is about to be smack dab in the middle of it and she—nothing can happen to her." he listened for a few moments and sighed. "Well I think you should make this a priority Jack. There's a chance the CIA could capture Marcus Kane."

Katie and Pepper followed behind Nathan, their guns held firmly in their hands. They continuously scanned the area. It was still too quiet.

"Where is everyone?" Katie asked the man.

"I don't know." he answered as he continued moving at a slow pace. "Look, please just let me go. If he finds me with you—"

"I don't care. Because of you, we're here. You're not the only reason, but you're apart of it and because of that your life means nothing to me." Kate said. "Now get us out of here." they walked until they ended up at a door. "Where does this door lead?"

"Main floor of the cannery. The exit is in there." Nathan replied.

"Go." she ordered before the man pushed open the door and they all walked into the room filled with old machinery.

"Son of a—" Pepper said before bringing the back of her hand to her nose. "I'm going to vomit." Katie felt her own stomach twist and tighten at the odor and tried her best to hold on until they were out of there.

"Get us out of here." Katie said giving the man a push to the back. It didn't have it's intended effect, because instead of moving, the man suddenly stopped. "What are you doing, go before I shoot you."

"Ah, he knows there are things much worse than a bullet." an accented voice echoed around them. Pepper and Katie froze as they looked around the dim lit warehouse for the source. Soon they didn't have to look anymore because man after man began appearing around them, a guns in their hands, all pointed at them. Kane's face appeared right in front of them. "Good boy Nathan. Now go!" the young man nodded before running off. Kane turned back to Katie and Pepper who held their guns even tighter. "Drop the weapons ladies, this is what one would call a no win situation." There was suddenly a roar of thunder and lights in the room began flickering.

"There's no such thing as a no win situation." Katie muttered as she stared at the flickering light hanging right above her head. "I think you're about to find that out." Katie reached over and took Pepper's hand when suddenly all the lights in the building went off and the room was completely dark. Katie pulled Pepper close to her. "Pepper get down." both women fell to their knees and crawled.

"Find them!" Kane's voice yelled when something crashed through the skylight. Everything in the room froze, until the lights flicked back on and the two women that were standing there was replaced by a very angry Asgardian and Iron Man.

"Are we late for the party?" Tony asked as he scanned the crowd of me. "Where are they?"

"I'm sorry, mate." Kane said taking a step forward. "This was an invitation only party, you under—" the man's words were cut off by Thor's hammer that had slammed into his gut and sent him flying into a brick wall.

"Thor, buddy. I thought we talked about this." Tony said looking over to the man. "We find the girls and then you starting hitting stuff."

"My apologies, I felt my patience running thin with that poor excuse for a man." Thor said before lifting his hand and his hammer flying in instantly. They turned back to the men who stood around them, their hands slightly shaky.

"Mine too." Tony said before turning. "Let's hope one of these assholes will be able to help us." Tony lifted his hand, initiating a rocket launcher. "I swear running this thing manually is a hassle." he cleared his throat. "Now your leader is gone and if you don't want to die, you'll tell us what we want to know. Where are they?!"

"Stark!" Steve's voice came in through the comlink. "We have Katie and Pepper, they're outside."

"Oh, ok." Tony said before dropping his hand to his side. He looked over to Thor who looked ready for a fight. "They're outside." Thor's face deflated in disappointment. "I know bud, but hey the nights still—" bullets began flying toward them. The men shared a look before Tony just gave him a slap on the arm. "Go nuts." Thor smiled widely as he began spinning his hammer in his hand about to throw when the doors to the cannery pushed opened, and more men with guns ran in. Only these men looked too official, and the windbreakers reading CIA were a giveaway.

"This I didn't expect." Tony muttered.

"This is the police!" a voice yelled from a loudspeaker. "You are surrounded. Surrender your weapons and get down on the ground!" Kane's men all complied as they dropped their guns and began laying on the ground. Thor, unsure what to do began lowering his hammer to the ground.

"I think he was talking to the bad guys." Tony said looking over to him. "C'mon, this fishy smell is making me nauseous."

The moment Tony and Thor stepped outside, they were hit with the sudden sight of flashing lights coming from everywhere. Officers and EMTs were running around as a couple of helicopters flew above them. Tony spotted Pepper instantly. She was sitting in the back of an ambulance, a blanket held firmly over her shoulders.

"Pepper!" Tony called before running over to her. The moment she saw him, she stood to her feet letting the blanket fall. Tony released himself from the suit and stepped out of it to wrap his arms around her. Tony pulled back and steadied her face between his hands as he looked her over. "Are you alright, are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." Pepper said wrapping her arms back around him in a hug. "You have no idea how happy I am to see your face right now." she pressed feverish kisses to the side of his face before their lips met. Tony pulled back and smiled, letting the fear was off of him as he stared into Pepper's eyes.

"Wait?" Tony said remembering. "Katie?" he began looking around the chaos.

"She's not here." Pepper said and Tony turned to her in confusion. "Bruce and Clint showed up and they took her to the hospital."

"Hospital? Is she alright?" Tony asked and Pepper shrugged.

"I don't know, we should go though." Pepper said and Tony nodded before turning and waving Thor over. They were about to leave when someone called Tony's name.

"Mr. Stark!" a voice yelled and they all stopped to see a gray haired man walking their way. "My name is Special Agent David Jackson with the CIA. You mind if I ask you a couple of questions?"

"Actually I do." Tony replied. "My friend is in the hospital and I'm going to make sure she's alright. This is going to have to wait." the man looked at Tony for a moment before giving him a nod.

"For the moment anyway." Jack replied before watching as they all turned and walked away.

"You're just going to let them go?" Agent Calder asked walking up beside the man.

"Right now they're not important." Jack replied. "Do we have Kane?"

"Yep." Calder said with a nod. "He has a few broken bones and a hammer size imprint on his chest, but he's a live. We're shipping him to Langley now."

"Good." Jack said before turning and walking off. "I want security on him tight, do you understand?" the woman simply nodded.

"Where are you going?"

"To the hospital." Jack called back.

Clint had long abandoned his seat in the hospital waiting room and was now pacing back and forth. When they arrived Katie was taken behind the double doors, Bruce with her as Clint was told to wait. He hated it. Hated that he'd been separated for hours and now that he'd found her, he'd have to be separated from her for even longer.

"How long has he been at this?" Steve asked walking over to Natasha who stood watching Clint.

"About an hour." Natasha replied watching as the man she thought was fearless and strong now pacing nervously. "I've never seen him like this."

"That's what love will do." Steve said and Natasha gave him a sideways glance and he simply shrugged. "What's happening with James?"

"Mason's taking care of him." Natasha said turning back to Clint.

"And that means?"

"It means that he's not dead, so rest easy Captain." Natasha replied. "I'm not sure how much of a silver lining that will be for him once he's questioned." she turned to Steve. "How's Pepper?"

"She's being looked over now, but everything seems fine." Steve said. "Tony's with her. He doesn't plan on leaving her so he told me to keep him updated on Katie. Any news?" Natasha opened her mouth just as Bruce came from behind the emergency room doors into the waiting area.

"Bruce, how is she?" Clint asked rushing over to the man. "Is she alright, is the baby alright?"

"Baby?" Steve whispered over to Natasha.

"Apparently there's a baby." Natasha whispered with a small smile. "Mason owes me more money."

"She's fine. Baby's fine and healthy." Bruce said and Clint let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. "She said she was having some strange feelings, but being held captive by crazy people would make anyone feel nervous. We should be able to get her to the tower, but I'm going to want her to stay in medical for the night just to be cautious."

"Can I see her?" Clint asked and Bruce nodded.

"Sure, I'll show you to her room." Bruce replied before leading him through the doors.

"This is great." Steve said before turning to Natasha. "I'm going to go fill in Tony." Natasha nodded before the man hurried down the hall. Natasha stood there for a moment before pulling her phone from her pocket and bringing it to her ear.

_"How is she?" Coulson had bypassed his usual greeting and was getting straight to the point._

"She's fine and so is her baby." Natasha replied and she heard the man let out a sigh of relief. "You already knew about the baby, didn't you?"

_"What kind of director would I be if I didn't?" Coulson said. "Look, Mason is transferring Mr. Scott to an undisclosed facility to be questioned. I want Kane and I want to know who exactly hired him."_

"That's gonna be hard seeing as he's now in the custody of the CIA." Natasha said with a shake of her head.

_"Then I think it's time you made friends with Mr. Banks." Coulson replied before ending the call._

"Make friends," Natasha sighed combing her fingers through her hair. "That should be fun."

The moment Jack stepped out of his car and began walking toward the hospital, Matthew seemed to appear out of no where.

"Get out of my way Black." Jack ordered and yet Matthew didn't move. "I find it noble that you want to protect your sister, but I am in charge of this investigation and that means turning over every rock. Right now one of those rocks is your sister."

"I told you what you needed to know." Matthew replied. "About Cynthia."

"Yeah, and when I ran that name through the system, I came up with nothing!" Jack snapped. "Cynthia Chambers does not exist." and with that Jack pushed Matthew aside. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have an investigation to tend to."

"Wait!" Matthew said and the man stopped and turned back to him. "You want what my sister knows, then you let me do it. I can get close to her and I can figure out what the hell is going on."

"You'd really do that?" Jack asked. "You'd use your relationship with your sister to help me?"

"No, I'd use my relationship with my sister to help her." Matthew replied. "Anything I find, I pass to you and you see where it leads. Anything you find you pass back to me." Jack looked at him for a moment before nodding.

"Fine." Jack said before turning and heading back to his car. He stopped and turned back to Matthew. "So I'm guessing this means you're back?"

"Yeah," Matthew replied turning to the hospital. " I guess I’m back."

Coulson let out another sigh of relief as he placed his cell phone down on his desk before turning to the hologram screen that was displayed on his wall that showed the concerned faces of Cynthia and Martin Chambers.

"Is she alright?" Cythia asked. "Is my daughter alright?"

"Yes," Coulson said with a nod. "For the time being. But you know they won't stop. And she won't stop being a target." Coulson stood to his feet and walked around his desk. "What happened today can not happen again."

"You think we want this?" Martin asked angrily. "You think we enjoy having our daughter's life constantly being put on the line because of us. This is the exact opposite of what we wanted. She was supposed to be safe and happy. That's what your people promised us."

"It may have been what was promised, and that promise was broken, but making sure your daughter was safe and happy was not our job, it was yours!" Coulson snapped taking a slight step forward. He stopped himself and took a deep breath to calm himself. "There's no taking back anything now. Right now there's only one thing you can do." Coulson folded his arms over his chest, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I wanted to respect your privacy, to be ok with the fact that I don't know why or even how you're here, but that ends now. Tell me why they want you so badly?" Cynthia turned to her husband before turning back to Coulson.

"Because I carry a secret. One they thought was lost, but it's not." Cynthia said before tapping a finger to her head. "It's here and only here."

"What secret?"

"How to make them gods."


	24. Chapter 24

She was safe. At the moment, that is all Clint could think about. It was what made him smile, and not hold his breath. His family was safe and right now all he could do was stare at her.

"Stop being weird." Katie groaned not bothering to open her eyes. "Weirdos stare at people while they're sleep."

"Well I married a weirdo, so I figured it was ok." Clint replied as Katie shifted her body to bring her head to rest on his chest. He placed a kiss on the top of her head and smiled slightly. She was safe. He couldn't stop thinking it. "How are you feeling?" Katie sighed before opening her eyes and lifting her head to meet his.

"It's been a week."

"Yeah, I get that. But you were kidnapped, again I might add, so kill me for being a little worried."

"It's been a week." Katie said sitting up and crawling over him to straddle his lap. "So please hear these words my dear husband, I am fine. Baby bird is fine. We are all fine."

"Baby bird?" Clint asked and Katie smiled before leaning forward to bring her lips to his. She moaned into his lips as his hands slid under her night gown, but she quickly caught his hands.

"We can't." she muttered pulling back, but his hands remained firmly on her waist keeping her in place.

"Why not?"

"Well I don't know if you remember, but I'm suppose to be working with Tony—"

"When did this happen?"

"I told you." Katie replied with an accusing finger. "Remember we were watching that horrible movie and afterwards we—" she rolled her hand hoping he caught her drift. "And I told you."

"That doesn't count and you know it. I usually start tuning you out when there's sex involved." Clint said and Katie smacked his arm playfully.

"Hey I can't help that you miss out on pertinent information with your sex brain." Katie said before pressing a kiss to his lips and pulling back, but Clint still held her tight.

"The answer is no?"

"And what was the question?"

"Kat—"

"Bart?"

"You're not doing this. With JARVIS still out of commission this place isn't as much a safe haven as we thought. So you and me, in this apartment is the best thing right now."

"No that's called paranoia." Katie replied folding her arms over her chest.

"No that's called being a concerned husband." Clint said before in one swift movement he rolled her over, so her back was on the bed and he stared down to her. "You don't get it do you? You and that kid are the most important things to me and that means keeping the both of you safe. So if that means I handcuff you to this bed then that's what I'm going to do."

"That's sweet," Katie said smiling brightly as he brought his lips to feather kisses along her neck. "Also doesn't change the fact that I'm still going." Clint stopped the kissing and lifted his head, his eyes portraying his annoyance. "Like you said JARVIS is still out of commission and if we're going to get him back online, new and improved then we're going to have to work on it."

"And why can't he do it himself?"

"Because I've worked with JARVIS for a long time. Plus this is sort of what I do."

"Well you worked on him before and bad people hacked you and took you away." Bart countered and Katie scoffed before turning away from him. "I didn't mean—"

"Yeah you did," Katie replied before pushing him away. "Get off of me." Katie slid off the bed and walked out of the room to the kitchen.

"That didn't come out right."

"Bart, don't try to lie your way out of this!" Katie said walking into the kitchen. "You think we screwed up. That if we were as good as we say we were then Kane wouldn't have gotten in and me and Pepper wouldn't have been taken." she turned on her heel to look him in the face. "That's what you think, isn't it?" Clint didn't say anything and his silence spoke volumes. "I can't believe this."

"Fine," Clint said closing the distance between them and planting himself right in front of her. "You want the truth. The truth is I thought this place was safe. And what happened proved that it isn't, so I don't trust this place anymore. Everything I trust is in this room, so I need you to just stay here in this room with me."

"I can't do that." Katie replied with a shake of her head. "This room isn't unreachable, there isn't some giant wall protecting us in here. This is it. The tower is our safe haven." Clint opened his mouth to counter, but Katie clamped a hand over his mouth to stop him. "Last week was a glitch and I plan to make sure it doesn't happen again." she removed her hand and replaced it with her lips. "I'm going to help Tony in the lab today so we can bring JARVIS back on line." with that she turned and walked over to the refrigerator.

"Fine," Clint said folding his arms over his chest. "Then I'm coming with you." Katie looked over to him with a quirked eyebrow.

"Are you now?" Katie asked before grabbing a carton of milk and turning to face him. "And how do you think that's going to work out for you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I know you husband and I know you do not have the attention span to focus on anything that will be happening in that lab today. You're going to be bored out of your mind." Katie said lightly chuckling as she opened the carton. "And when you get bored you whine."

"I do not whine." Clint argued and Katie shot a glare over to him.

"Our first doctor's appointment for the baby, Dr. Blaire was running behind and so we had to wait." Katie said and Clint turned away from her. "In the span of ten minutes you turned into a toddler." he scoffed and Katie walked around the island. "This sucks," she said mimicking his deep voice. "How much longer is this going to take?" she let out a loud, deep sigh. "This is ridiculous, the baby will be half way to college by the time she gets here."

"You can stop now, you've made your point." Clint replied and Katie smiled proudly. "Doesn't change the fact that I'm still coming." Katie visibly deflated before turning and snagging the milk carton about to take a drink, when Clint grabbed it from her hand. "Geez Kat, how many times do I have to tell you to use a glass?"

"And how many times do I have to tell you that it tastes better from the carton." Katie replied before stalking off to their bedroom to get changed.

Matthew stood in front of his bathroom mirror, fresh out the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist. He couldn't explain the feeling he had as he looked at himself. It was one thing to hide the truth from his sister, but it was another to manipulate her and that's what he signed on to do. There was a knock on his door that snapped him out of his head. He walked out of the bathroom and headed for the door, unsure who would be coming to see him this early. Without JARVIS, he'd be forced to find that out when he opened the door. Matthew reached forward, pulling open his door, a smile gracing his lips.

"Ninja Lady, nice of you to visit." Matthew said noticing how Natasha's eyes never once trail over his partially naked body. "You know you want to look, go ahead." she rolled her eyes before stalking into his apartment uninvited. "Huh, and here I thought vampires needed an invitation to come inside." Matthew said pushing the door closed and turning to her. "What can I do for you?"

"Marcus Kane." Natasha said turning to face him. "He is in CIA custody." Matthew stood there waiting for her to get to the point. "I need a way to get him out of CIA custody." Matthew looked at her for a few moments before erupting in a fit of laughter.

"You're kidding right?" he asked stepping toward her. "Because you really didn't just walk into my apartment and tell me that you needed to break a highly dangerous criminal out of federal government custody. That has to be a joke." he stopped laughing and his face grew serious. "A very bad joke, but a joke none the less."

"I don't joke". Natasha replied flatly. "We need to question him and when he breaks out of federal custody—"

"He won't break out."

"Oh, please. He will break out and if he does, we won't get to question him. So be a good boy and give me his location."

"You mean the ninja lady with never ending intelligence can't find him?" Matthew asked with a tilt of his head. He smirked and Natasha felt her patience running thin. "I'm sorry ninja lady but I can't—"

"I didn't want to do this, because it's cheap and it's simple." Natasha said turning her back to him and moving around his apartment. "But at the moment you're leaving me with no other choice."

"Care to elaborate?"

"What do you think will happen when Katie finds out you've been lying to her this whole time?" Natasha asked meeting Matthew's gaze to see the smirk gone, and now nothing was left but pure anger. "I mean you were her little brother. The only piece of normal she had. It would crush her to know that you're not who she thinks you are."

"Blackmail, really?" Matthew asked taking another step toward the woman. "Trust me Agent Romanoff, I am not a person you want to upset and I'm definitely not someone you threaten."

"No, but you are someone who loves their sister and I'm telling you that your friends over in the agency will not get a peep out of him." Natasha replied closing the distance between them. "You're not seeing it. We're on the same side. We want the same thing."

"No, you want to catch a terrorist group and I want to save my sister."

"Both of those things happen one way." Natasha stated. "If you help me, I promise you will not regret it."

"I already regret it and I haven't even agreed to anything yet." Matthew muttered with a shake of his head. He turned around and walked toward the bedroom and because Natasha was only human she did let her eyes travel over better parts of him. "You're looking at my butt, aren't you?!" he called and she simply rolled her eyes. He came back moments later, now dressed in a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt with a slip of paper.

"What is this?" Natasha asked as he handed her the paper.

"I don't know where Kane is being detained, what I do know is that you can find out from her." Matthew replied as Natasha looked down to the paper.

"Candace Calder?" Natasha asked quizzically before meeting the man's eyes once again.

"She's being kept close to this case. I honestly think she's sleeping with the boss, but that's just speculation. But she's weak and no matter how strong she tries to make herself seem, she's not." Natasha nodded before moving toward the door, but Matthew grabbed her arm stopping her. "You do not hurt her. She is one of the good ones."

"And you thought I needed to be reminded of that?"

"No, I think someone in your line of work can get easily confused." Matthew said and Natasha simply smirked before pulling out of his grasp. "It's been fun ninja woman. Maybe next time you can be the one in only a towel." Natasha didn't reply as she stalked out of his apartment. "Why do I get the feeling, this is going to bite me in the ass?"

The ride down to the lab was unusually silent as Katie and Clint waited for the door of the elevator to open. Clint would glance over to Katie, who noticed every time.

"What?" she asked finally turning to him.

"So, ballpark, how long do you think this will take?" Clint asked and Katie smiled giving him an I told you so look.

"I don't know, could be hours." Katie replied with a shrug of her shoulders as she turned back to the doors. She let out out a little giggle when she heard him groan. "You still coming?" her laughter was cut off by his hand suddenly wrapping around her and pulling her against his chest.

"You know there are more fun things than numbers and science."

"Oh bite your tongue," Katie said feeling his hands moving along her hips. "And you can not seduce me Mr. Barton."

"Is that right Mrs. Barton?" Clint asked his voice lowering and eyes darkening the way they always did when he had one thing on his mind. Her brain was getting cloudy and his hands continuing to caress and squeeze was not helping her at all.

"Call me Mrs. Barton, again." she said her eyes lowering to his lips. She loved the way it sounded coming from him and she knew he knew the effect it had on her. He smiled opening his mouth, only for the elevator doors to slide open. Neither moved until they heard the subtle or not so subtle clearing of someone's throat. Both turned to see Tony and Pepper looking over to them, one smiling brightly, while the other wore a frown.

"Pepper, make a note to have that elevator sanitized." Tony said looking over to his fiance who playfully smacked his arm.

"Tony, stop I think they're adorable." Pepper replied turning back to the couple who were walking from the elevator. "And I'm glad you're here because there's something I would like to run by you."

"Pepper, don't." Tony said with a shake of his head and Pepper just waved him off.

"After the events of last week people are worried. They held the Avengers on this pedestal and expected you all to uphold their impossible standards and last week you failed." Pepper replied glancing over to Tony. "In their eyes, we all did."

"Well I could care less about what these people think." Clint said taking Katie's hand. "What happened was fucked up, but we—"

"I, actually." Tony interrupted and Clint sent a glare in the man's direction. "All you did was stand around." Katie gave Clint's hand a squeeze, trying to calm him. "But you're right, it doesn't matter how it was done, but the situation was handled."

"I know that and you know that but the people don't and it's manifesting itself in some very negative ways." Pepper replied. "We did a survey a few days ago and it found that people don't trust the Avengers anymore to protect them." she looked over to the Tony. "And SI is right up there with them."A smile came to the woman's face. "Which is why I've come up with a plan."

"We're not going to like this." Katie muttered as she looked into the woman's eyes.

"No you're not." Tony said with a shake of his head.

"What if you guys did a press conference." Pepper suggested. "I mean this way the American people can be reassured that they're safe and that just because SHIELD is gone, doesn't mean the Avengers are. They need to know that you're still here. " she looked over to Tony who still just shook his head. "And the company needs some positive publicity. We're being deemed liars for faking Katie's death," Pepper turned back to Katie. "And now with this James Scott thing, we're treading in dangerous water."

"Pepper I get what you're trying to do, but there is no way in hell I'm getting on camera for some press conference." Clint said folding his arms over his chest. "Right now there are people after my wife, and finding out why is the most important thing for me right now." Pepper turned to Katie with an expected look and Katie simply furrowed her brow.

"What?"

"Well will you do it?

"This is an Avengers thing and I'm not—"

"Yeah you are." Tony and Clint say simultaneously, but both grimace that they actually shared a similar thought.

"You're apart of this team Kitten." Tony adds and Katie turns to him. "This concerns you as mush as if does any of us, but Hawkboy is..." he struggles with the next word. "Right, we don't have time to sooth the press or the American people's peace of mind. If something big comes up, we will handle it and that's when they'll know, but until then we should focus—" the glare Pepper was sending him stopped all words from coming out of his mouth. "What was I saying?"

"I need you guys to think about this, because whether you know or not, a lot of people look to you for their salvation. They've learned that we're not the only ones in the universe, and that bad people can sneak into government agencies and threaten to kill millions of people without them knowing. You all have a responsibility, a responsibility you took the moment you decided to avenge our planet. It's just one conference, one chance to show people you are still here and you are still fighting." she leaned over and pressed a kiss to Tony's cheek before turning back to Katie and Clint. "Just think about it." they both nodded before watching the woman walk onto the elevator and leave.

"Not that I'm not jumping for joy to see you, but what are you doing here?" Tony asked before turning his back to the pair and swiping some thing on the holocomputer.

"I'm here to help you put JARVIS back together again." Katie said stepping around the table to stand beside him. "I thought you could use a hand."

"Actually I don't, but thanks." Tony replied not even sparing her a glance. "Why don't you and your hubby go start a college fund for tweetie or something."

"Good idea!" Clint called sarcastically before looking over to Katie. "Kat, let's go." she held up a hand before turning to Tony.

"You're still mad." Katie stated and Tony let out a snort before walking away to another holocomputer.

"What was your hint?" Tony asked seeming to try extra hard at not looking over to her. "I mean I thought we were friends, hell at one point I thought we were best friends. But best friends know about weddings and babies, right?" she walked over to him, only for him to move away once again to busy himself with work. "I feel stupid for asking you to be my best man, you know what I take it back." he looked over to her finally. "I resend my request for you to be my best man." Katie nodded before turning and walking toward Clint and if it wasn't for the look on her face, the sadness, Clint doesn't think he would've done it, but he did.

"You are an asshole!" Clint said and Katie looked over to him with wide eyes.

"Bart, stop, let's just go." Katie said walking over to him and trying to push him toward the elevator.

"One sec," Clint said turning back to Tony, whose back was toward them. "You're an asshole and you want to know why? Because this woman cares about you and that's why she's here. And it's why every time you call, she answers. No one planned a wedding and specifically made sure you weren't there. Actually if it was planned, I'm sure there wouldn't have been any question as to if you would be there or not and for the life of me, I just don't get it. She cares about you Stark, you are her best friend, and just because we did one thing without you doesn't change that, no matter how much I wish it did." Clint took Katie's hand and pulled her with him toward the elevator.

"I have identified the part of JARVIS's code that needs tightening." Tony said and Clint and Katie stopped and turned to see the man looking over to them. "I could use your eyes if you don't mind." Katie smiled before looking over to Clint and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "There will be none of that in my lab." Katie walked over to the computer and looked up to the code as Tony looked over his shoulder to Clint who stood off to the side, his arms folded over his chest. "Rousing speech, but you can go now."

"Sorry Stark, where ever she is, I am." Clint said nudging his head toward Katie.

"He thinks the tower isn't safe and that the only way for him to keep me safe is to be attached to me at the hip." Katie said as she moved some numbers around on the hologram.

"Seriously?" Tony asked looking back to Clint whose face didn't show an ounce of amusement.

"Tony, leave it alone. I've already tried and if I can't convince him then I'm positive that neither can you." Katie replied before swiping over a string of code. "This needs to be recalculated and those variables need to be reassigned. We're going to the have to make JARVIS look unrecognizable on the inside if we want to prevent him from being hacked again." Tony looked at the code and tilted his head as ideas began forming.

"I have an idea of where I can go with this." Tony said as he too began swiping away.

Clint stood off to the side, watching the two engage in the most boring exchange he had ever witnessed. It was all numbers and formulas and it was starting to get to him. Now he'd been trained to withstand any situation, but this one was just getting painful. He nearly jumped for joy when his cell phone rang. He grabbed it from his pocket quickly and brought it to his ear.

"Barton."

_"How would you like to get your feet wet?" Natasha asked._

Clint furrowed his brow before looking over to Katie and Tony who were in their own little world. He turned his back to them before replying.

"You're going to have to be a little more specific then that Nat"

_"Target retrieval from enemy hands, just like in Syria." the woman replied. "Only this time there will be less sand."_

"Whose the target?"

_"Marcus Kane."_

Clint looked back over to his wife. If there was one thing he wanted, it was to be left in a room with Marcus Kane and show him what happens to people who hurt his wife.

"When?"

The doors of the elevator slip open and Clint turns to see Natasha walking off with her phone pressed to her ear.

"Now." she answered before dropping the phone from her ear and looking over to Clint.

"What's wrong?" Katie asked and they both turned to see Katie and Tony both looking over in curiosity. Natasha looked over to Clint, waiting for him to say something. He was always good with a lie on the fly, but at the moment he seemed to be hesitating.

"I need Barton's help." Natasha said turning back to Katie.

"With what?" Katie asked her eyes still on her husband.

"It's complicated." Natasha replied again and this time Katie decided to walk over and stand in front of Clint.

"Bart, what's going on?" Katie asked and Clint let out a sigh. He couldn't tell her what he was doing, because that would mean the promise that he made would be a lie. He promised that this was their life now and that he was no longer the Agent of SHIELD.

"Katie—"

"I asked my husband." Katie said glaring over to Natasha. "So stop talking now, please." she turned back to Barton awaiting his answer. "Are you going to answer me?"

"I need to be debriefed." Clint finally answered trying to keep his eyes fixed on Katie's. It had to appear to be the truth. "They want me to recount this past year, places we've been, people we've run into. They think it might help figure out how we were found." Katie looked at him for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Kat, I shouldn't be gone long."

"So this big deal you made about not letting me out of your sight was just a lie?" Katie asked knowing that only something important could tear him away from her.

"No, but if I possibly know something that could lead us to these bastards then all this could done. The danger gone and we can go back to our lives." Clint replied and Katie just nodded before placing a hand on his chest. "Kat—"

"Don't," she replied with a shake of her head. "Just be careful." and with that she turned and walked back to the hologram and began swiping. Clint stood there for a moment before looking over to Tony.

"Stark," was all Clint uttered. It was his way of telling the man to protect his wife and to make sure nothing happened to her. Tony nodded, seeming to understand before watching Clint and Natasha turn and step onto the elevator.

"What the hell just happened?" Tony asked once they were gone. Katie didn't say anything right away and so he turned to her. "Kitten?"

"My husband just lied to my face is what happened." she replied before dropping her hands to her sides. She ran a hand over her eyes and Tony heard a slight sniffle.

"Are you—"

"Shut up!" she said turning away from him. "This damn baby makes me feel every god damn emotion." she shook her head before stalking off toward the bathroom.

Natasha and Clint stood in an awkward silence as they rode the elevator. Natasha glanced over to Clint who seemed to be staring intensely at the doors.

"It was a good lie."

"Yeah it was," Clint replied not turning to her. "Too bad she saw right through it." he dropped his head and sighed. "This better pan out Nat, because if it doesn't then this is it." he looked over to her with a look so intense, that it actually made her slightly nervous. "What's the plan, where is he?"

"That's what we need to find out." Natasha said as they stepped off of the elevator.

"You know you could've just waited until you actually knew where he was before you decided to draft me in this half ass plan." Clint replied as they walked out the door to see Mason leaning on the side of a black SUV, a smile gracing his lips. "You've got to be kidding me." he turned to walk back into the tower, but Natasha caught his arm. "I'm not working with this guy."

"Yeah you are." Natasha replied looking between the men. "As of right now, this is the retrieval team and we are going to find Kane before he escapes."

"I thought CIA had him?"

"They do." Natasha replied.

"Yeah, so anyone else think three former Agents with a limited amount of tech can just take a heavily guarded prisoner without any hitches?" Mason asked looking over to Natasha. "Don't get me wrong, I'm all on the whole CIA are idiots train, but something like this needs a full on tactical team, not just us."

"I thought you were the best?" Natasha asked, hoping a little stroke of his ego would shut him up.

"Flattery will get you everywhere Rome." Mason replied before turning to Clint. "Hey I've been tossed into more impossible situations, why not?" he walked around the car to get into the drivers seat.

"I'm going to hit him." Clint said looking over to Natasha. "I'm not sure when or with how much force, but it's going to happen."

"He's used to it by now." Natasha replied before turning and climbing into the passenger side. Clint looked back over to the tower. He didn't want to leave her, and especially not in the care of Tony Stark, but maybe this really was a step to getting back their lives. Clint let of long sigh before he too climbed into the SUV.

Katie sat on the floor in the large bathroom in Tony's lab, her back leaning against the door. She couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Clint had stood there and lied. Once it seemed she couldn't cry anymore, she stood to her feet and grabbed some tissue to dry her face. She looked in the mirror and loudly groaned when she got a look at herself. Her eyes were puffy and it was obvious that she'd been crying. Splashing some water over her face, she hoped it would help and it did. Slightly. After a few moments, her face looked slightly better and so she decided to finally go back out to the lab. She was in the long hallway when she heard it. It was a deep groan and so Katie stopped. When she heard it again, she decided to see where it lead and that’s when she came to a door. Her hand had only touched the door knob, when someone had touched her shoulder startling her. She turned to see that it was only Tony.

"That was not cool!" Katie said slapping his arm.

"Sorry, I was just coming to make sure you were alright after you started... you know." Tony said and Katie sent him a glare.

"No, I don't know." Katie said folding her arms over her chest.

"Starting acting like an actual girl." Tony replied and Katie slapped his arm once again. "Will you stop hitting me?"

"What's in this room?" Katie asked changing the subject. She turned back to the door when another groan escaped. She took a step forward and pressed her ear against the door. "Is someone in there?"

"No," Tony said before grabbing her arm and pulling her away. "So I thinking with JARVIS—"

"Tony, what are you—" Katie struggled to pull herself from his grasp. "I'm going to throw up." That got his attention and he stopped and let her go. "Sucker!" she said before running back to the door and turning the knob only to realize it was locked.

"Sucker!" Tony called after her and she turned back to him . "What's in that room is not your concern, so let it go." Katie turned back to the door still trying to turn the knob with no succession. She turned back and walked over to him.

"You have a secret." she stated plainly, and a soon a grin tugged on his lips.

"Apparently we all have secrets." Tony replied glancing down to her stomach before turning on his heel and walking off. "Now were you going to help with JARVIS, or not?" she glanced over to the door with a shake of her head before following after him.

"So is this when we do this?" Katie asked walking beside him. "When you tell me how upset you are with me for not telling you about the wedding or the baby?"

"No, that's not going to happen." Tony said looking up to the hologram and looking at the moving codecs. " It doesn't matter." Katie stood there, slightly shocked. She expected a bigger reaction, not this very grown up one. He stopped what he was doing and looked over to her. "Are you going to help, or what?" she stared at him for a moment before shaking her head.

"No, I'm not." she replied. "If you're going to do that, stand there and pretend with me, then I don't want to be here. You're upset and it's normal to be upset because I went off and did something without at least telling you." she clenched her fists at her sides. "My entire life everyone lied to me. Everyone, until I met you. You were the only one who was always honest with me and if that's ended or if this is some peek at the real you then I think I should go." she turned and headed for the elevator.

"You should've called!" he yelled and she stopped and turned back to him. "I would've told you that it was a mistake and that you could do better. You would've done it anyway, but then at least I could've tried. Yes, I'm upset, and it's taking a lot for me not to yell and scream and throw things at you, but I can't because you're not—" he dropped his head and sighed before meeting her eyes once again. "You're not mine and I can't move and place you where I want you to be. You've had a shit deck handed to you and I just want the best for you."

"He's what's best for me." Katie said with a shrug. "I know you don't see it, but trust me he is." she walked back around the table and began swiping files on the hologram.

"That's it?" Tony asked looking over to the woman who seemed to have dropped the subject. "That's all you want?"

"No, I want to know what's in your secret room." Katie said glancing over to him.

"You're not gonna like it, hell I don't like it." Tony said with a shake of his head and Katie stopped turning toward him. "You can't freak out."

"Well that just means I am going to freak out." Katie said impatiently waiting for him to continue. "What is it?"

"Bruce may have initiated a transformation." Tony said and Katie's eyes went wide. "And he may have tested out his de-hulking crap."

"But it's incomplete!" Katie snapped. "I was going to check over the latest data he sent me, but I definitely remember telling him that there were still errors."

"I know—"

"Obviously you don't, because if you did—" she growled before punching Tony in the arm hard. She turned back to the hologram and typed in a few keys. "JARVIS?"

"Yes Katie?" the AI spoke and Tony's eyes widened in confusion.

"What the—" Tony lifted his head to the monitors to see codes running across the screen. "How long have you been working on this?" she turned to glare over to him. "Right, later. We should probably go check on Bruce."

"You think!" she snapped before turning and heading to make sure Bruce was alright.

Natasha stood in one of the many ladies rooms of the CIA. She already knew getting in wouldn't be a problem, hell it wasn't first time she covertly snuck into these walls. She looked at herself in the mirror, running her fingers through the short blonde wig on her head before straightening the thick, blacked brimmed glasses she now wore. Raising her wrist, she looks down to her watch and sighs.

"I guess it's show time." she muttered before smoothing out her black pant suit and heading out the door.

"You know you may play the tough on the outside chick, but on the inside you're just a girl." Mason said walking in stride beside her. "Worrying about your hair, and your make up."

"Do you want me to shoot you?" Natasha asked not even bothering to look in his direction. " I will shoot, right here, right now. So don't test me."

"You know I think I can only take being shot by you only once." Rick said straightening the tie of his suit. "I still get nervous whenever anyone even mentions Shanghai." he shutters slightly before turning off, going in one direction, while Natasha keeps walking. She spotted Agent Calder immediately, the woman busy looking at something on her computer. Natasha simply walked over, taking the seat that was propped up against the woman's desk, startling the agent.

"Can I—can I help you?" Calder asked looking to the unfamiliar woman.

"Marcus Kane, I need his exact location." Natasha said and the woman's face crumpled in confusion.

"Excuse me, who are you?" Calder asked looking around thinking she may need a little back up soon.

"Don't," Natasha said and Calder turned back to her. Natasha reached into her jacket pocket and Calder immediately reached for her service weapon, only stopping when Natasha took out a cell phone. "You're thinking about yelling or calling for help, but you're not going to."

"Is that right? And why not?"

"Because you have a younger sister." Natasha said looking down to the cell phone. "Miranda Calder. College junior, majoring in Psychology. Taking after your dad huh?" Natasha looked back up to the woman,whose confusion now was just anger.

"If you hurt her—"

"I don't want to hurt her. I don't need to hurt her." Natasha said before turning her phone to Calder and the woman gasped as she looked at the screen to see her younger sister, bound and gagged with a gun to her head. " What I need is the exact location of Marcus Kane." Calder turned to Natasha's cold stare.

"I don't know where he is." Calder growled through clenched teeth. She looked around hoping someone would look her way so she could signal them in some way.

"You're lying, which is funny since people usually don't lie when they have someone's life in their hands." Natasha said slipping the phone back into her pocket. "Your sister's life is in your hands right now. So what's it going to be?" Calder's face twitched as she tried her best not to cry, or to scream. She clenched her fist on top of her desk and dropped her head. She reached over and grabbed a pen before scribbling something on a piece of paper and slowly slid it over to Natasha who quickly picked it up and read it to see an address.

"It's a safe house where he's being questioned." Calder said biting her lip.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Agent Calder." Natasha said before standing to her feet.

"Wait!" Calder said standing to her feet. "My sister." Natasha slipped her phone from her pocket and and typed a few keys before looking back up to Calder.

"Your sister is safe." Natasha said before turning and heading for the exit. The moment her back was to the Agent, Calder reached for her gun and aimed it right at the assassins back.

"Stop walking!" Calder called after Natasha who kept walking. "Someone stop her!" everyone turned to Natasha just as every light in the building switched off leaving the building in darkness. There were shrieks as people panicked at the sudden darkness, but only moments later did the lights flick on and Natasha was gone. Calder still stood there, her gun aimed high as she looked around for a sign of the woman, but she had disappeared into thin air. "Shit!" the woman snapped before walking back over to her desk and picking up her phone, but there was no dial tone. "Shit, shit shit!" she slammed the phone on the receiver before running toward the exit.

Natasha and Mason rushed down the stairs of the agency, each stripping off a piece of clothing. This plan relied heavily on timing and both knew that at the moment their time was running out.

"I can't believed that worked." Rick said with a shake of his head as he loosened his tie. "I mean I remember the French Consulate thing, but I didn't have a front row seat for that one. This was kind of epic. I'm actually going to put this in my memoirs."

"You're writing—" Natasha just shook her head, not even wanting to explore that conversation further. "You know what, never mind." They stopped where Mason had planted a duffel bag before the plan. They reached in, pulling out more disguises. These ones, janitor coveralls. Natasha started unbuttoning her blouse and Mason stopped and stared. She stopped and glared in his direction. "I seriously will shoot you." Mason snapped out of his daze before the pair slipped on their new disguised and kept running down the stairs.

"You text Hawk the location?" Mason asked slightly out of breath as their feet never stopped moving.

"Yep, he should be headed there now to scope the place out." Natasha replied when they reached their intended floor. They both stopped and took deep breaths before pulling open the door that lead to the lobby. The place was a mad house. People were running around, yelling into walkie talkies. She looked around when she didn't see something she expected. "Where's the janitor cart?"

"It should be—" Mason moved past her to look out the door to see that the cart he planted was gone. "Someone must've move it." he shook his head before looking back to Natasha. "Looks like we're free balling it." Natasha glared over to him, before pushing him out of the way and walking out into the lobby. She kept her eyes trained on the exit and her feet moving, letting people just run around her.

"Ma'am," a voice says from behind her and she turns to see a tall, buff man staring down to her. "I'm going to need to see some ID."

"There they are, it's the terrorists!" a high pitched voice yelled. "They have a bomb!" the chaotic lobby got even more chaotic as more people began running, bumping into each other. The agent turned and ran to check out the threat, while Natasha simply turned and continued out the door. She kept moving until she reached their car. She heard footsteps behind her and clenched her fists at her side.

"Admit it. In a time of crisis you need me on your side." an annoying voice said from behind her. She rolled her eyes before opening the door and sliding into the driver's seat while Mason walked around to get in the passenger seat. "You hungry?" he looked over to Natasha rubbing his belly. "I'm hungry." she shook her head before pulling off.

Katie’s feet were frozen as she stood on the outside of some kind of glass room that Bruce now lay, half naked and unconscious.

"Why can't I go inside?" Katie asked looking over to Tony who was doing something on one of the computers.

"Because that room is a box of gamma radiation right now, and I just don't think you'd do well?" Tony replied looking over to her. "Or baby bird." Katie shook her head before walking up to the glass and smacking it hard.

"Bruce!" she yelled and she noticed him stir slightly. "Get up Bruce!" his eyes glazed open and he just laid there for a moment. "Bruce!" he lifted his head at the sound of Katie's voice and turned to see her staring over to him. "You stupid, fucking idiot, are you alright?"

"I don't think you can ask someone that after calling them a stupid, fucking idiot." Tony muttered and Katie turned a deadly glare in his direction. "Sorry." Tony turned back to the monitors before pressing the intercom button. "Brucey, how you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Bruce said placing a hand on the side of his head. "A little disorientation, blurred vision—" he groaned slight. "Nausea." he tried standing, only to stumble back on his butt. "Maybe a lot of disorientation." Katie walked over to Tony and pushed him out of the way before pressing the intercom. "Bruce, close your eyes and take a deep breath."

"I knew this was a bad idea." Tony muttered looking up to the video monitors of Bruce's safe room.

"This is messing with his genetics and his entire biometric structure. Using the device when it's not even proven to be effective could kill him." Katie said watching as Bruce once again tries to stand to his feet, this time succeeding. She pressed the intercom again. "Alright Bruce, now I want you to walk over to the glass." she walked over as well, watching him slowly moved toward her. Once he made it, he looked down to her. "Your pupils are dilated." there's suddenly a beeping from Bruce's watch and she notices that he suddenly snaps his eyes closed and clenches his fists against the glass. "Bruce look at me. You're alright, just calm down."

"He's not alright. His heart rate is increasing!" Tony calls looking down to the monitors. "This is— this is incredible. These readings, he—he should be dead."

"No, but we're about to." Katie said when Bruce's eyes suddenly snap open and they're completely green. Tony lifts his head and his eyes go wide before he runs over and grabs Katie from behind.

"Aright, I'm taking that as our cue to get the hell out of here." Tony said trying to pull Katie from the room, only for her to pull out of his grasp. "What are you doing?" Tony's eyes turned back to Bruce whose skin was expanding and stretching, erasing all remnants of the man and replacing him with a monster. "Look this room was built to contain him, that glass, not so much. We have to get out of here now."

"And if we do, then we could lose Bruce." Katie replied looking over to Tony. "Bruce had control of the transformation and that—" she pointed to the transforming hulk behind the glass who was growling in anger. "That is not Bruce, that is the other guy. Bruce is losing his control and we have to get it back."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Tony asked before the hulk slammed his fists against the glass. They heard cracking, and Tony's initial instinct was to grab Katie and run, except when he tried grabbing her, she dipped out of his reach. "So you want to die, is that what this is?" The hulk slammed against the glass once again, this time shattering the glass room. Tony grabbed Katie's hand and pulled her with him, but stopped when the hulk's growl nearly shook the room. They both looked up to the massive green beast that stared down at them snarling. "Hey, dude, remember me?" Tony felt his own heart pounding in his chest as he looked up into the darkened eyes of the Hulk. "Remember New York, aliens, Hulk smash?" Tony shook a fist in the air, but stopped when the the monster only roared once again. "Yeah, he doesn't remember me."

"No, he’s pissed." Katie said not breaking her eyes from the monster. "I know you're upset. Bruce was stupid, he shouldn't have tried to get rid of you." the hulk's bared his teeth at the mention of Bruce's name. Katie took a step toward him, only for Tony to grip her hand and pull her back.

"I don't think so, this is a good distance to be from the angry, rage monster." Tony muttered looking up to the monster before turning his head and placing a hand subtly over his mouth. "JARVIS, I need a suit, quick."

"Hulk, you need to bring Bruce back." Katie said and that only seemed to make him even angrier.

"That's it, I'm getting you out of here." Tony said picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder.

"Tony, put me down!" Katie called as Tony carried her toward the door. They heard what sounded like something snapped and both stopped to see the Hulk looking down to his hands in confusion. His head snapped to the side and his fingers twitched in front of him. "What's happening?" the beast drops his head back and at the top of his lungs releases a blood curdling roar and right before their eyes, he begins shrinking. Tony and Katie stare in confusion and fear as the beast slowly turns back into their friend. Bruce stands there, shell shocked for a moment before looking over to his friends.

"You guys alright?" he asks.

"Yeah, we're good. I may have pee myself a little, but other than that—" Tony said when suddenly one of his Iron Man suits crashed up from the floor. "Perfect timing JARVIS!"

"Sorry sir, my systems still need to be reconfigured." JARVIS replied.

"Hey JARVIS, what are the gamma levels in this room right now?" Katie asked and both Bruce and Tony look over to her as she places a hand over her stomach. "Someone get me the fuck out of here." Tony quickly grabs her and once again tosses her over his shoulder and runs out of there toward the elevator.

"JARVIS, lock down this area." Bruce ordered and suddenly metal doors clamped all around him. He walked back over to the computers to begin reducing the radiation levels in the lab.

Clint lays on his stomach, looking through a pair of binoculars at a small cabin in the middle of the woods. The moment he hears footsteps, he grabs the gun at his side.

"It's us," Natasha says as she and Mason crouch down beside him. "What do we got?"

"I got two inside, one guarding the door and four surveying the area." Clint says passing her the binoculars. "This impossible plan isn't so impossible." he looks over to her as she looks down to the cabin.

"Mason you handle the the four surveyors, I'll handle our watch dog—" Natasha looks down to Clint. "You handle everything in that room and grab Kane." They all stand up straight, sharing a slight look before they all turned in different directions to tend to their part of the plan. Clint's feet moved quickly as he ran down the steep hill toward the cabin. When he heard gun fire, he moved even quicker. He reached the back of the cabin, peeking in the window to see the two agents standing above a bloodied Kane who laid unconscious on the floor. Clint froze when he heard a clip of a gun behind him. He rose his hands in surrender as he turned to see one of the agent's with his gun pointed right at him. Clint had only took a step before the agent was shot right in the chest. He looked up to see Mason running over and crouching beside the agent and placing his hand on his neck.

"You know its annoying trying not to kill these bastards." Mason muttered before looking over to Clint and nodding. Clint turned back to the cabin and walked around to the front door, just in time to see Natasha laying on the ground, her legs tight around an agent's neck.

"Go!" she yells over to him and he nods before taking out his gun and grabbing the door knob and pushing it open. The moment the door opened shots were being fired and Clint jumped behind a table, using it for cover. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He only caught a glimpse of them when he walked in, but it was enough. They didn't call him Hawkeye for nothing. Clint turned his body slightly, raising only his gun and pulling the trigger once before slightly turning the gun and pulling the trigger again. He heard the sound of two distinct thuds and stood to his feet to see two agents laying on their backs, bleeding from their chests. Clint walked over to see both men's eyes open and staring up in fear.

"Don't worry, help is already on the way." Clint said holstering his gun and turning the battered man he really wanted to see. He reached down to grab the man, when his phone rang. He slipped it out of his pocket and looked down to see it was a call from the tower.

"We have to go!" Natasha said walking beside him. "One of them tipped off the locals, we need to move." Clint nodded slipping the phone back into his pocket before grabbing Kane's arm and pulling him to his feet.

Special Agent David Jackson was totally and completely pissed the fuck off. He paced silently in his office, that was now a wreck with the phone pulled from the socket and paper strewn about.

"Sir—" Agent Calder spoke, but instantly wishing she didn't. Jack turned to her with a look that could kill a dead man.

"You no longer speak!" Jack snapped stalking toward her, making her even more nervous. "A woman walked in here, into the fucking CIA headquarters and you gave her the location of my—" he growled in anger before turning his back to her. "And now he's gone and I got seven wounded agents." He whirled back around to face her. "This is a fuck up I couldn't afford to have. The pentagon wanted progress, and I had it. Right in my hand and you let them take it away. I want you to bury yourself in that security footage, I want you to find this bitch and I want her head on my desk, do you understand me?!"

"Yes sir!" Agent Calder replied before turning and rushing out of his office. Jack angrily turned to look out his window, letting out a deep sigh when something came to him. There was still a rock he needed to look under. There was no way he was going back to his bosses with nothing. "Sorry Black, I'm tired of waiting." Jack grabbed his keys from the desk and turned and headed out the door.


	25. Chapter 25

It was almost like a form of art the way Natasha tortured Kane. It was as if she'd studied it, but in reality it was deeper than that. She'd been exposed to torture for a long time, even long before joining up with SHIELD, so maybe that made her somewhat of an expert. The fact the Kane hadn't done anything but chuckle since he was brought to their secluded location didn't really show that.

Natasha stood above the man's bloody and bruised body, her breaths jagged. She let out an annoyed groan before turning to look over to Mason and Clint who stood on the other side of the room.

"Tough nut to crack, huh?" Mason asked watching as Natasha walked over to a nearby table and grab a damp cloth. She began cleaning the blood off of her hands.

"He's strong." Natasha replied. "We're going to need more if we're going to break him." she turned looking over to Mason who simply nodded.

"On it." and with that the man turned and walked out.

"Are you serious?" Clint asked looking over to Natasha. "You can break him."

"Yeah, I could but he's being an annoying little bitch and I don't know how much restraint I can practice." Natasha said tossing down the towel and walking over to Clint. "We will get answers, it's just gonna have to take some time." Clint scoffed and walked around her to the man and crouched down beside him.

"Who hired you?" Clint asked and the man once again chuckled, even showing his bloody teeth.

"I'm sorry mate, did I hurt your poor little kitty?" Kane asked and Clint thew a punch right into the man's face before standing to his feet and walking toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Natasha asked and Clint stopped and looked over to her. "We're not done."

"Yeah, but I am. I've been gone for hours, I have no fucking signal here and I need to make sure Kat is alright." Clint said before turning toward the door again.

"You can't do both!" Natasha called and he turned back to her. "You can't be the normal guy who runs off to check on his pregnant wife and be the trained killer who kidnaps criminals and helps torture them. Stop pretending you're not who you are."

"And who am I Nat?" Clint asked angrily stalking over to stand right in front of the woman. He was standing so close she could see the anger in every line of his face.

"You know who you are, so stop fighting it." Was all Natasha said. Clint let out a low growl before turning and stalking out of there. He looked down to his phone, still seeing that he had no signal and hoped everything was alright at the tower.

Tony stood at the end of Katie's bed, his arms folded over his chest. He raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"She wake up yet?" a voice said from behind him. Tony turned to see Steve walking into the room. "Whoa, what happened to you?" Steve looked over the man to see his hair ruffled and his clothes crumpled.

"She freaked out on the way up here." Tony said with a shake of his head at the memory of her yelling at him on the elevator up to the MU. "And then when we did get up here, she punched one nurse, told off the new doc I hired with words that made me cringe, and then they finally sedated her."

"Is she and the baby alright?" Steve asked walking around to stand beside the bed.

"Yeah, they're fine. We weren't in that room long enough for there to be any severe interaction." Tony said sliding his fingers through the back of his hair and letting out sigh. Steve looked over and noticed an expression he didn't see often with the man. He was upset, but there was something else.

"What's up?" Steve asked and Tony lifted his head over to him.

"She was scared. I've never seen one person so afraid of anything like I saw her today." Tony let out another deep breath. "And I tried to calm her down, tell her that everything was ok, but she wasn't hearing it."

"She was worried about the baby." Steve stated turning back to the woman. "It's her first kid. In that moment fear was a normal reaction. Did you get in contact with Barton?" Tony scoffed at the mention of the archer's name and Steve glanced over to him.

"I called, and then I called again and again and again." Tony said with a shake of his head. "And after all those times, against my better judgment I called again and nothing. Let me ask you Cap, if you had a wife, a pregnant wife at that, would you not answer your phone."

"We can't jump to any conclusions." Steve said with a slight shrug. "We don't know why he didn't answer and until we do, let's not throw him under the bus."

"I was thinking more like throwing him under the other guy." Tony muttered before walking over and taking the seat beside Katie's bed.

"How is Bruce doing?" Steve asked and Tony let out a snort.

"He says he's fine, but I doubt he is." Tony said with a shake of his head. "This device he's trying to build is messing up his Chi or something because he wasn't in control of that transformation."

"Well is it safe for him to be here, for any of us to be here?" Steve asked.

"I built a hulk proof room down in the lab, that's where he is now." Tony replied and looked up to see the uncertainty in the captain's eyes. "At the moment, it's all we have."

A soft murmur escaped Katie's lips and both men turned just as she stirred in her sleep.

"I think she's having a nightmare." Steve said.

"Yeah," Tony said standing to his feet. "Kitten, can you hear me?" he shook her slightly but she didn't open her eyes. "Katie?"

_Something was broken. She heard something snap the moment she hit the wooden floor of the basement. Her hands reached for her shoulder as she shrieked in pain. There was no time to dwell in pain, because the moment she lifts her head she sees her father stalking toward her, a wooden baton gripped in his hand._

" _Dad, what are you—" she rolled away quickly as he swung the stick to hit her. "What are you doing?" she sat gripping her shoulder, trying to catch her breath as she look into the darkened eyes of her father. "I think my shoulder is dislocated." he lifted the stick again and Katie jumped to her feet._

" _You think that will stop anyone!" he snapped before reaching over and grabbing her broken shoulder causing her to whimper. "A dislocated shoulder doesn't end the fight, death does. There are no time outs, or do overs. You get hurt, you keep going." he released her shoulder and pointed to her discarded baton. "Pick it up!"_

" _No!" Katie growled and he turned a dangerous glare to her._

" _Excuse me?"_

" _I said no!" she snapped taking a step forward. "We are not fighting a war right now. You are my father and instead tending to your injured daughter you're training me for whatever craziness you think is going to happen." she shook her head before turning and heading for the stairs._

" _Wait!" Martin yelled and even though she was angry, her feet stopped moving. He walked over, placing himself in front of her and for just a few moments he just stared at her._

" _I'm just a kid." Katie said looking up to her father._

" _I know," he replied before walking over to a work bench and picking up a pencil. He looked at it before turning and handing it to his young daughter. "Bite down on this." Katie took the pencil skeptically, before looking back to her father. "Trust me, you're going to want to bite down on that darlin’." he took a step toward her and grabbed her shoulder. Katie looked down to his hands, finally realizing what he was going to do, so she quickly brought the pencil between her teeth. "Alright, on three." she nodded as he extended her arm. "One-" he didn't go to three like he said he would and popped her shoulder back in place causing her to let out cry of pain. He looked down to her eyes as the tears began falling. "It's alright," he brought his arms around her. "I'm right here."_

Katie's eyes snapped open wide, and she found herself breathing heavily. It was only the hand on her shoulder that calmed her. She looked up to see Tony and Steve staring down at her, the concern written over their faces. A sudden thought hit her and her hand instantly went to rest on her stomach.

"My baby—"

"Is fine. Both of you are." Tony assure and Katie let out a sigh of relief. "The nurse you decked is also fine." Katie glared over to him before looking over to Steve and then to the door.

"Where's—" she turned to Tony who simply turned away. "Did you call him?"

"He didn't answer and I tried a couple of times."

"Something's wrong." Katie said flicking the blankets from over her. "He answers. He has a wife and an unborn child and he's ridiculously overprotective. If he didn't answer then something is wrong."

"Hey, we don't know that." Tony said trying to stop her from leaving the bed. "Right now you need to stay in bed."

"Mr. Stark is right." a new voice said and they all turned to see a man standing walking into the room.

"Who are you?" Katie asked her voice not hiding her annoyance with the man.

"Kitten, this is Dr. Franklin Allen. I just hired him to work here in the MU." Tony introduced. He noticed the suspicion in Katie's eyes. "Don't worry, he's been vetted, by me, Pepper and JARVIS before he was compromised."

"How are you feeling Mrs. Barton?" Dr. Allen asked and Katie lifted her eyes to his, her mind drifting back to her husband.

"I'm fine, can I go?"

"I understand the discomfort of hospital rooms." the man said slightly chuckling. "Look all the tests looked good. I don't see any damage or abnormalities with you or your baby." a nurse pushed in a machine and they glanced over to her. "But I thought you might want a little piece of mind. Would you lay back for me." Katie laid back on the bed as the nurse walked over and helped Katie open her gown to expose her three month pregnant belly. Tony hadn't been really paying attention before, actually he'd been avoiding looking in that area of her body, but her gown came up, leaving nothing but her exposed belly, there was no hiding from it even more. There it was.

"We should go." Steve suggested feeling a bit out of place in the room. He looked over to Tony who seemed to be staring as the nurse squeezed a blue gel on her stomach. "Tony—" Tony turned to him and waved him off. "We should go."

"Fine, then go." Tony said walking around to the other side of the bed to get a good look at the screen. "I actually want to see this."

"Tony—"

"It's fine." Katie said looking over to Steve. "You guys can stay." Steve looked unsure for a moment before moving to stand beside Tony.

"Alright, let's see how your baby is doing." Dr. Allen said taking a seat on the stool beside Katie's bed before grabbing the wand and placing it on her belly. All their eyes went to the screen where the the grainy footage appeared.

"Remind me to upgrade all the equipment used in here." Tony muttered and Katie smacked his arm. "I could probably find a better machine at Radioshack."

"I'm only interested in one thing and there—" Dr. Allen smiled the slight silhouette that showed on the screen. "Is your baby."

"Wow." Steve said looking at the image of a tiny baby on the screen. "Technology really has gone above and beyond." Tony tilted his head slightly as he looked to the screen.

"It has a big head, must get that from bird brain." Tony muttered before looking over to Katie who he thought was going to hit him or slap him but she didn't. Actually she didn't say a word as she brought her hands to her lips. She was speechless as she looked at the image on the screen. She'd known that there was a baby, hell she was reminded of the fact practically every day when she would rush to the bathroom. Now though, she could see little him or her. They were real. A smile came to her lips and she couldn't explain the feeling that arose in her chest. She looked over her shoulder to see her friends, but it's who she didn't see that made the smile fall.

"What's wrong?" Tony asked noticing the instant change of emotions in face. She shook her head before turning back to the doctor.

"Can I go back to my apartment?" Katie asked and Franklin looked at her for a moment before looking to Tony.

"I don't see why not." he replied turning back to Katie. He flicked off the machine and gently rubbed off the gel. "Like I said everything looks fine, but I would sleep better tonight if you spent the night here just in case."

"No, uh JARVIS is up and running and he can monitor me while I'm in my apartment." Katie said and the doctor simply nodded.

"Alright." the doctor said standing to his feet before nodding over to Steve and Tony before turning and leaving the room.

"I'm not sure about this." Tony said and Katie turned to him. "I just think—"

"Tony stop." Katie said placing a hand on his arm. "I just really want to be alone so I can try to find my husband." Tony stared for a moment before nodding.

Soon Katie stood in the middle of her apartment, correction her empty apartment. It took a while for her to kick Tony and Steve out, but after some minor arguing and promises that JARVIS would be watching, she was finally able to get rid of them.

At the moment, she looked down to her cell phone. She was hesitant to dial his number. It was fear. She was afraid of the two possibilities. Either something was wrong, or he really just wasn't answering his phone. In the end she didn't have to push a button, because soon he was walking through the door holding two large brown paper bags.

"I brought take out." Clint said smiling over to her before placing a kiss on her cheek and heading to the kitchen. "I didn't know what you were in the mood for so I got a little bit of everything, but I figure with your knew found appetite that means we won't have much left." Katie walked toward the kitchen and stopped and watched as he took the food from the bags. "I went to that bakery too and bought those little—" he looked over his shoulder to her and knew instantly something was wrong. "Kat?" he walked over and reached for her only for her to back away. "Kat, what's wrong?"

"Tony called you." Katie said meeting his eyes.

"Yeah, there wasn't any signal." Clint said reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. "He didn't leave a message, so I figured everything was alright." Katie scoffed before turning her back and walking back into the living room. "Kat, will you talk to me, what's wrong?"

"When I was working with Tony down in the lab I found out that Bruce was testing the device we were working on." Katie turned to face him to see him awaiting for her to continue. "He hulked out and—"

"Wait, what?" Clint moved to close the distance between them. He reached out to her and she once again pulled away. "Kat—"

"I was in a room filled with gamma radiation and I freaked, I—" she shook her head before unconsciously sliding a hand across her abdomen. "I was scared to death and you—" she met his eyes, this time he was met her watery gaze. "You didn't answer your phone."

"Kat, I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"Right, because you didn't have a signal." Katie replied her temper rising. "Where were you again?" Clint cleared his throat and turned away slightly before turning back to her.

"I told you—"

"And it was a lie then, but I promise you that if you lie to me now I will literally beat you within an inch of your life." she growled taking a step closer to him. "You were not going to be debriefed because you didn't need to be debriefed. Coulson had eyes on us, so he already knew where we've been and who we've seen. Try again."

"Kat, look I'm sorry, you have to know that if I knew what was happening, I would've been here sooner. But you're alright." he said and Katie shook her head. He was doing what he always did when he didn't want to answer a question she asked. "You are alright, aren't you? Wait-" he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Is the baby alright?"

"As if you care," Katie muttered with a shake of her head before stalking past him, now fully prepared to just lock herself in her bedroom. The moment she was within arms reach he once again tried to reach out to her, but she pulled away from him. He hated when she did that. When he could touch her he could just make her feel how much he loved her, just from that touch. Now she was so upset with him that she didn't even want close to her.

"Is that really what you think?" he asked and Katie simply shrugged before folding her arms over her chest. "Everything I do I do for you and that baby." she turned away about to go to their bedroom, when his hand caught her off guard, wrapping around her waist and pulling her flush against his chest. "I love nothing as much as I love you. I fight for nothing as hard as I fight for you and that baby." He didn't have to say it. She knew the words were true. His eyes held a conviction when he said them, leaving no room for her to doubt them.

"Tell me where you were?" Katie asked again. It was the question she'd been asking and had yet to get an answer.

"Kat," he closed his eyes and sighed. He knew the moment he told her it would be like proving her right. He promised that they wouldn't lose themselves coming back here, but he'd broken that promise the moment he accepted Natasha's invitation. He easily jumped back into the role of the agent and had to admit that it felt good. It felt natural. As he looked down into his wife's eyes, he knew he couldn't tell her that. "I—" there was a knock at the door and he didn't know if he was grateful or annoyed by the interruption. "I'll get it." Clint removed his hands from her waist and walked over to the door. The moment he opened it, Matthew stormed in without an invitation

"Rinny, I just heard what happened, are you alright?" Matthew asked going straight for his sister. The moment he came face to face with her, he saw her puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks. "Rinny, is it the baby?"

"No," Katie said placing a hand on his arm to calm him down. "We're fine." he looked at her for a moment. He knew her very well and knew from the look in her eyes that she definitely was not fine.

"Matt, maybe you should come back some other time." Clint said and Matthew turned to him. There was something going on with him too. He turned back to his sister who tried drying her eyes with the back of her hands.

"Rinny, what's going on?"

"Matt—"

"I'm talking to my sister!" Matthew snapped looking over to the archer. "Not you." he turned back to Katie who looked like she was going to break down any second. "Rinny, tell me what's going on."

"It's nothing," she said with a shake of her head. "I really just want to be alone right now." he stared at her for a moment before simply nodding and heading for the door. He stopped at her next words. "I think you should go too." He knew that bastard had done something to upset her.

"Kat—" Clint said taking a step toward her and something inside of Matt snapped and he walked over to stand in front of the man, blocking his path. "Matt, move out of my way." his voice was laced with idle threats he was ready to back up if the man if front of him didn't move out of his way of getting to his wife.

"She told you to leave." Matthew said his voice uncharacteristically serious. Clint tried to look over to Katie who simply turned and stalked into the bedroom, slamming the door closed behind her. "What the hell did you do to my sister?"

"For once in your life Matt, how about you mind your own business and stay out of ours." Clint said trying to sidestep the man. He needed to get to Katie. He needed to tell her that he wasn't leaving because he knew that's what she was afraid of. People always left her and he needed her to know that he wasn't going to be one of those people. Clint took a step forward and to his surprise, Matthew pushed him back hard. In that moment, something snapped in the archer's head. He as about to attack, when the British voice of the AI interrupted.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Stark is requesting your presence in the upper level conference room."

"Why?" Clint asks.

"He says he wishes to speak with everyone except for Mrs. Barton who he knows is suppose to be resting." JARVIS answered. "I will be monitoring her condition and will inform you if there are any issues." Clint and Matthew bring their eyes back to each other, the glares set firmly in place. Clint took another step to get to the bedroom, but Matthew moved to block him.

"Matt, look I get you don't like me, but—"

"This has nothing to do with you. This is about my sister who is pregnant. So yes, if you're upsetting her, then I'm not letting you anywhere near her. Let her calm down and if she wants to see you then that's when you do, but not before."

"I"m sorry, Mr. Stark, says the matter is urgent." JARVIS interrupted again. Matthew and Clint stood there for a moment before the pair both turned and head out the door.

Katie laid on their bed, sobbing into her pillow. This was something she didn't do. She didn't cry over things like this. She tried to save her tears for when it really counted, for deaths, not hurt feelings. She knew that being pregnant warped your insides, she just didn't know it would turn her into a big baby. The tears fell for a while, until they just stopped. She laid on her side, just staring at the bare wall in front of her. Her head was filled with the events of the day and she needed something else. A distraction.

"JARVIS—" her voice was slightly hoarse, so she cleared her throat and tried again. "JARVIS, pull up the encrypted files from Flash 0012." soon a holographic screen appeared on the bare wall and Katie sat up slightly from the bed.

"Katie, I think it would be best if you got some rest. Your blood pressure is higher than normal and given these reasons I should inform Dr. Allen." JARVIS said.

"Probably, but I just had a fight with my husband, so that probably explains that, but I'm fine. Do not inform anyone." Katie replied. Part of imputing her own codes into JARVIS' files made giving him orders that much easier. "Open file marked Initial Interview C. L."

Soon a grainy film footage appeared on the wall. The SHIELD emblem appeared on the screen, and then flicked off quickly and appeared a woman. Katie sat up from the bed fully, sliding to the floor, but never taking her eyes from the screen. It was the woman in her dreams, the woman she only remembers from her dreams. She was young, just like her father. Her hair was dark and curly, pulled from her face in a pony tail.

" _Please state your name for the record." the familiar female voice spoke from somewhere outside the frame of the video. It was the same interviewer who spoke with her father._

" _Which one?" she answered, her German accent thick. Katie’s eye brows furrowed in confusion. In her dreams there wasn't an accent._

" _I want your name." the interviewer said, stressing the last word as if trying to imply something. "You came here for a new life, we're here to give it to you. We just need to know if you can handle it. If when asked the simple question of what's your name, you answer quickly without hesitation or snarky remarks."_

" _I'm sorry, I just didn't realize this new life came with the contingency that I must erase everything I am." the woman replied glancing down to her fingers. "I came here for sanctuary, not to be acculturated."_

" _No you came here for freedom." the interviewer replied and the woman rose her head. "Freedom has a price and if you want it then you will pay that price. Now please, to the camera, state your name." the woman lets out a deep breath before looking to the camera and it was as if she were looking right to Katie._

" _My name is Cynthia Olivia Lawrence." the woman said her accented voice now gone and replaced with an American one._

" _Now tell me, why are you here?" the interviewer asked and Cynthia turned to her with a slight frown. "Recount the events that lead you here."_

" _It's simple, I thought I was doing something good. I thought I was making a difference and it turned out I was apart of something horrible." Cynthia replied dropping her head once again. "I thought—" she swallowed hard before lifting her head back to the camera. "I was foolish and I found out just in time."_

" _Care to elaborate?" the interviewer asked and Cynthia gave a slight chuckle._

" _It's so backwards here. One person tells me say one thing while the other tells me to say another." she mutters with a shake of her head. "You Americans are a very frustratingly annoying people." she looks over to the interviewer. "I do not know if you hold the clearance for that information and so no I do not care to elaborate." the interviewer was quiet for a moment before once again speaking._

" _I've just been informed that you are right." the interviewer replied her voice portraying a slight annoyance. "How about you tell me about how it is you came to be here?" Cynthia turned away, a ghost of a smile gracing her lips._

" _Martin." she said the smile making it's way to her voice. She suddenly seems to remember where she was and the smile is suddenly gone and she's sitting up straight in her seat. "I mean Agent Chambers found me and he offered me a way out."_

" _And you took it?" the interviewer asked. "Do you understand what we are asking of you Ms. Lawrence? Once you go to the other side of the curtain, there is no going back, no calling friends or family. The life you had before dies and this one must live. Can you do that?"_

" _Can I walk away from everything?" Cynthia asked looking over to the interviewer. "Could you?"_

" _Ms. Lawrence—"_

" _Yes. At the moment I have no other choice, do I?" she said. "I can never go back, because if I do, I figure terrible things will happen. Terrible things I wouldn't be able to live with." she shook her head. "I just wish I could've said goodbye to—" she stopped talking and looked back down to her hands._

" _Friend?" the interviewer asked and the woman lifted her head and there was that soft smile again._

" _More like brother or that's what I like to think of him." Cynthia said with a slight shrug. "He worked on the base, I never knew under what circumstances. He never told me. He'd just tell me that it was a secret."_

" _What was his name?" the interviewer asked and Cynthia turned away slightly frowning._

" _You know for a second I thought you were human, but you really are the heartless bitch people call you." Cynthia snapped glaring over to the woman._

" _That may be true, but I'm still going to need that name." the interviewer replied her voice annoyingly flat._

" _Erik Lehnsherr." said Cynthia before standing to her feet. "I wish to leave now."_

" _We're not done—"_

" _I think we are." Cynthia replied before storming out of the room. The footage just showed her empty chair for a few moments before the screen flicked off._

Katie sat there for a few moments, playing back the video in her head. It was strange seeing her mother. She'd gotten used to thinking of the woman as simply a ghost. A woman who she made up stories about. It was another to see her in real life.

Katie shook her head before standing to her feet and sliding back into the bed. Right now there was a lot on her mind and she didn't know where to start. She was tucked under the blanket, her eyes closed trying to force herself to just go to sleep and hope the next day was better. She was almost there, almost in the land of dreams when her eyes snap open and she shoots up from the bed.

"Erik Lehnsher." she whispers with a furrowed brow. "Where have I heard that name?

Matthew and Clint rode the elevator in utter silence. The only sound came from the distinct sound of Black Sabbath playing softly around them from the elevator.

"Is that—" Clint lifted his head as he listened to the lyrics. "Please tell me he doesn't have Iron Man by Black Sabbath playing." he looked over to Matthew who just shook his head.

"Have you not met the narcissist that is Tony Stark?" Matthew asked glancing over to Clint with a slight chuckle. Clint let out a laugh as well, but both stopped when they realized what was happening. Clint assumed they would just drop it, but he forgot who he was on the elevator with. "Were we just bonding?" asked Matthew and Clint looked over to see the man's face scrunched in confusion.

"I told you I'm a pretty likable guy." said Clint as the elevator slid open. They both stepped off, Clint mostly following Matthew because he honestly had no idea where he was going. When they entered they found Tony, Steve and Thor standing around, but they turned when they entered.

"Finally, I thought I was going to have to send out a search party." Tony bit as he watched the two men enter the room.

"Cut the crap Stark, what is this about?" It was Clint who spoke, and he just had to make it obvious how much he didn't want to be here.

"This is about Bruce and the fact that he's not controlling the other guy as well as he used to." Tony said and everyone in the room silently thought of all those implications. They were stuck in a building with a person who couldn't control his giant rage monster.

"Where is he now?" Matthew asked taking a step forward. He wasn't even sure why he was invited to this little meeting since it seemed he was the only one here who wasn't an Avenger.

"Down in the safe room in the lab?"

"Well how safe is your safe room?" Clint asked. "Should I be getting my wife out of here or what?"

"That room was built to withstand a giant green monster so yes it is safe." Tony informed him, pride shining through every word.

"Where is the issue?" Thor asked. He'd been informed of what had happened when he arrived, but he was still unsure of why he was here if the situation was basically handled.

"The issue is my friend—our friend can't spend the rest of his life in a room." Tony sighed slipping his fingers through his hair. "Which is why I called you guys here. I'm thinking about making a call, one I'm not really sure about." he looked up to their faces. "Dr. Elizabeth Ross?"

"Are you serious?" Matthew asked.

"Ok, I'm a little lost. Who is Elizabeth Ross?" Steve asked and Tony shifted his gaze to the Captain.

"Old girlfriend of Bruce, but she does have an extensive background in all things gamma. If there is some sort of imbalance going on with him, she's the only person I know who might be able to help."

"Then what is the hesitation, if this maiden can help then I say we call on her right away to help our comrade." Thor spoke, his voice always seemed to be booming and commanding.

"The problem isn't her, it's her father." Clint spoke not even wanting to think of General Ross buzzing around.

"I can deal with Ross, I'm not sure I will be able to deal with Bruce once I call his ex." Tony said with a shake of his head.

"It doesn't matter." Steve concluded after hearing everything. "Right now Bruce needs help and if this Dr. Ross can give it to him, then there isn't a question of what to do. Whatever feelings Bruce has or doesn't have won't matter. We have enough crap to deal with and the other guy isn't going to be one of them. Make the call Tony." Tony simply nodded before Steve turned and headed out of the room.

"He's really letting that Captain thing get to his head," Tony muttered before turning to the others. "But he's right, I got to call Betty and hope Bruce understands why."

"I'm sure he will." Thor said before turning to look out the window. "If you will excuse me friend, I must return to Asgard."

"Hey, wait," Clint said walking over to the man. "I've been meaning to ask you about this whole seer thing. Have you heard anymore about it?"

"I'm sorry my friend. We have the seer kept in the castle, but she is refusing to speak. It's strange how she just sits in her cell not uttering a word." Thor's gaze turned away from Clint, but the concern wasn't lost in his expression. "We're still not sure what to make of her or her visions."

"Is it possible that this is some kind of trick, I mean Katie was right before. The woman didn't mention her by name or anything, so this really could be some kind of hoax." mused Clint who tried not to think of the information shared by Thor the last time they were here.

"It is possible, but I really must make sure." Thor said turning back to the window.

"Wait!" Tony called after him and they all turned to the man. "Doors, Thor. Use the door. Pepper will kill me if I tell her we need another window repaired." Thor smiled slightly before picking up his hammer and heading for the door.

"Well then I guess I should—"

"Hold it there Chachi." Tony said stopping Matthew before he could escape. "I know we're friends and all, but I think your little vacation may have warped your memory or something. You still are my PA. You don't get paid to just laze around and do what you want."

"I was just living by example." Matthew replied with a bright smile to which Tony simply glared. "Fine, what do you need boss?"

"Find out where Betty is, make sure she's not doing anything special and give her a call." Tony said and Matthew rose an eyebrow in confusion. "Yes, I want you to call her. Apparently I'm not as charming as I believe or so Pepper tells me."

"Understatement." Matthew muttered, but the look on Tony's face let him know that he should probably shut up.

"You know if you're not careful, I might actually fire you." Tony shot with a pointed look that only made Matthew laugh.

"That's cute." Matthew said with a shake of his head that made Tony think Pepper had really taught him way too much. "But fine, I'll call, but I don't think I'm much better in the charming department. I mean I'm better with the ladies face to face. Once they look at me, they don't even care about what comes out of my mouth." And that made Tony's lips curl into a smile. He was rubbing off on the man as well. "That's a good idea, I'll video chat her." Matthew mused as he turned and started toward the door.

"Sir, there is a guest down at the front desk who is requesting to meet with you." JARVIS said and Matthew stopped at the door.

"Do they have an appointment?" Tony asked slightly annoyed. It was late and the last thing he wanted was to be stuck in some meeting.

"No sir, but—"

"No buts JARVIS." Tony replied. "No appointment, no meeting."

"I understand, but Agent David Jackson is pretty insistent about meeting with you." JARVIS said and Matthew's jaw clenched. He cleared his throat before turning back to Tony.

"I'll handle it." Matthew said with a nod. "I'll just tell him to come back later."

"Or not at all. Not at all works better for me." Tony replied and Matthew nodded before stalking out of the room. Tony turned to see Clint still standing there with his hands stuffed in his jacket pockets. "She's pissed at you, isn't she?" Clint rolled his eyes before stalking toward the door. "Wait, stop!" Against his better judgment, Clint stopped and turned back to the man. "You fucked up, you know that right?"

"I am fully aware of that, but thanks for telling me!" Clint snapped turning back to leave once again.

"It wasn't even the lie though," Tony said and Clint once again stopped. "She's probably used to you lying, I would assume."

"Stark—"

"You missed it, man." Tony said walking over to the man with a shake of his head. "You. Missed. It." Clint looked slight confused and Tony let out a dry laugh. "It was a moment. It was supposed to be your moment with her, but you missed it and that's why she's angry. Hell that's why I'm angry. You have a lot of jobs when it comes to her, but your most important one was to just be there and you weren't." Clint shook his head, turning away from the man. "I know I'm the last person you want to hear this from, and I'm the last person who wants to say it because a part of me was happy you screwed up." Clint turned back to him with a darkened glare. "I knew you would. At some point you would show her your spots and you did and I always imagined how happy I would be in that moment. But as it was happening and I saw that look in her eyes—" Tony shook his head and met the man's gaze. "One simple job you idiot and you couldn't do it. So you pissed her off and you missed it."

"Missed what?" Clint asked annoyed at how cryptic he was being.

"JARVIS, play the file I downloaded from the MU." Tony ordered and soon a holographic screen appeared in front of them and both men turned. Tony had JARVIS clean up the grainy image of the baby's footage, making it clearer than before. The baby's features seemed much more defined. Clint seemed to gravitate toward the image, everything in the room seeming to disappear in that moment. He couldn't even form coherent thoughts as he look at his baby. His baby. No, their baby. He saw the subtle movement the baby made with it's arms and legs and a smile couldn't help but form. That image on the wall, he could stare at it all day without interruption and be a very happy man. In a lapse of judgment, he looked over to Tony and the smile instantly fell. Tony wasn't the one he was looking for, he wasn't the one he wanted this moment with and then it became so clear. Tony was right.

"I missed it." Clint spoke turning back to the image on the screen. This was the first time either one of them would have seen the baby this clearly and he wasn't there with her. He wasn't there to squeeze her hand or to kiss her feverishly as they marveled at what they made.

"There's sound too." Tony said. "But you may want to sit, because I don't think you'll be able to handle it." and with that Tony turned and walked out of the room.

Clint looked up to the screen, his hands wanting so badly to just reach out and touch it, but he knows it just a video.

"JARVIS, could you—" he hesitates for a moment unsure if he should take Tony's advice and find that chair. He shook away the thought before looking back up to the screen. "Play the sound." Soon the room was filled with the soft, but fast thumping of the baby's heart beat and Clint felt the lump in his throat. He doesn't know when it happened, but he found a chair and sat there, staring up to the image and listening to the sound of their baby's heart beating.

"Are you alright, Mr. Barton?" JARVIS asked .

"I'm—" words were failing him at the moment. There weren't any words coming to mind that could truly express what he was feeling. "I'm—" he was truly speechless. His phone vibrated in his pocket and Clint snaked it out never turning away from the screen. For just a second he looked down to see who it was. It was a text, from Katie. He quickly opened it and read words that just soured his whole mood. "Fuck." he jumped to his feet and nearly ran out of the room.

Matthew spotted the man as soon as he stepped off of the elevator. He stalked over to see Jackson talking to the receptionist behind the desk, flashing his badge.

"Do you see this, this says I don't have to wait until—" he stopped when he spotted Matthew coming toward him. "Finally. Are you here to take me up?"

"No, I'm here to show you to the door." Matthew replied grabbing the man's arm and nearly pushing him to the door. Jack pulled from his grasp and turned and dangerous glare to the young man.

"I know you've been gone for a while, but I thought you were smarter than that!" Jackson snapped closing the distance between the two. "I may be old, but I can still break you in half boy."

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Matthew asked angrily. "We had a deal. I collect the info and you keep your distance."

"Well our deal sort of went to shit when someone waltzed into my agency and stole my promotion." Jack replied and Matthew turned away. It was a tell. One Jack recognized instantly. "You know something."

"I don't know what you're talking about, just leave." Matthew said about to turned for the elevators when the man caught his shoulder, stopping him. He felt the pressure Jack was putting on his shoulder and was forced to turn back to him.

"Did you have something to do with Kane's disappearance?" Jack asked his voice dangerously low.

"I said I don't know what you were talking about," Matthew said jerking from the man's grasp. "But you being here doesn't help anything. You want my help, then you got to play by my rules and that means you do not get to be in a room with my sister."

"You're really afraid, huh?" Jack asked. "You really don't want her to find out who you really are?" Jack chuckled to himself with a shake of his head. "I'm sorry to say this, but a lie is only as good as the acting ability of it's speaker and you my friend are a terrible actor."

"I've made it this far, so I think I'm doing alright." Matthew muttered. Jack opened his mouth to speak when his phone rang. He reached inside his jacket, pulling it out and looking down to the number before bringing it to his ear.

"Tell me you got something, Calder." Jack said and Matthew watched curiously as a smile came to the man's lips. "Good job, get Interpol working on cranking up the satellite facial recognition programs, I want her found ASAP." he ended the call and looked back to Matthew. "Natalia Romanoff, ring any bells?" Matthew simply stared at the man and Jack just shook his head. "Actually don't answer that, tell your friend I'm coming for her and when I find her she better pray Kane is with her." and with that the man turned and sauntered off leaving Matthew with an uneasy feeling in his gut.

Tony walked into his penthouse, letting out a long tired sigh. He looked around for any indication that Pepper was there, but he knew she was working hard with this whole PR nightmare. He shook his head because he knew he probably was going to have to do that press conference. He'd been dreaming of a glass of Scotch for the past couple of hours and glad that it was now within walking distance.

"Any messages, JARVIS?" Tony asked as he poured himself a glass.

"A few sir, but there was one marked urgent that I think you should see." JARVIS replied and Tony lifted his head with curiosity as he turned to the holographic image that appeared. The glass had only touched his lips, but he didn't drink. He froze actually.

" _Don't be mad." Katie said, her face filling the screen. "I know saying that is pointless, because you will be mad, all of you will and I'm sorry about that, but I found something. Or at least I think I found something." she shook her head and turned away slightly. "I hope I found something." she let out a breath, turning back to the screen. "It's about my mother. I think I found something and I'm going to go check it out. And before you all go bat shit crazy, please, please, please just don't come looking for me, because where I'm going doesn't take well to strangers and I'm not looking to start any fights. I'm not going anywhere dangerous, actually I will be relatively safe. Just please give me a little time to see where this leads me, I promise I will be back tomorrow. Ok, bye, love you, don't come looking for me." she narrowed her eyes at the screen. "I'm serious." she smiled before shaking her head and then he video was off._

"JARVIS, I want a location on Katie's tracking device, now!" Tony yelled slamming the glass in his hand on the table.

"I'm sorry sir, I can't complete that request." JARVIS replied and Tony lifted his head and just closed his eyes letting out a frustrated growled. He should've figured that when she reprogrammed JARVIS that she would make some adjustments.

"Master override." Tony muttered, knowing an attempt to override was probably futile.

"I'm sorry sir, all my functions are now being controlled by Katie. That power only relinquishes under one circumstance." the AI informed and Tony furrowed his brow in confusion.

"What circumstance?"

"I'm not allowed to disclose that information, but if said circumstance should arise I would be required to pass the reigns of my mainframe back to you sir." replied JARVIS as Tony turned and grabbed his glass, and downing all the liquid.

"Can you tell me if she's safe?" Tony asked.

"Yes sir, I am required by Katie to report her health status upon request at any time."

Tony had found the bottle, about to pour himself another glass when the door to his penthouse swung open. He didn't have to turn to know who it was. If Katie was flying the coup, there were two people she was definitely going to tell. He was one of them and the other was standing behind him, breathing very heavily.

"Where is she?!" Clint asked as Tony turned back to him, simply taking a drink in response.

The drive probably should've taken her more than an hour, but the way she was driving, Katie wasn't surprise at her record time. She pulled up in front of the gate, looking to the mansion that seemed just as she remembered it. There was a slight itch of hesitation nagging her. It's how she always felt when she returned to a place she'd ran from. Facing her past was always hard and she had a feeling this wouldn't be different. She was about to reach out to press the call button, but to her surprise the gate simply parted for her. A smile came to her lips, because the act wasn't too surprising. It was actually a bit of deja vu.

_She'd been running furiously. They were behind her, chasing her to no avail. But they would't stop, she knew they wouldn't stop and the only way she won was if she didn't stop either. Katie tried her best to concentrate on where she was, because at least then she would know where she had to go. She'd been running so long that she'd long forgotten where her feet were running. All that mattered was that they kept moving. That was the plan, until she ran upon a tall gate. She stopped, breathlessly walking over and grabbing the bars of the gate and looking through to the mansion on the other side. There was a rattling from behind her and she was about to take off again when she also heard a clicking sound. She stepped back and watched as the gates parted as if welcoming her in. She was hesitant, unsure what do when something happened she didn't expect. It was a voice in her head, that wasn't hers and it wasn't her father's, but she heard it as clear as day._

" _Run." the man said and as if not of her own free will, Katie complied and she was running._

She parked the car right in front of the front doors of the mansion, glancing up for a moment before finally stepping out. The moment she closed the car door, she heard the front door open and she quickly lifted her head. She stared for a moment, and soon a bright smile graced her lips.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in."

"You're the welcoming committee now, Logan?" Katie asked as she stepped around the car and leaned on it's side. She seemed hesitant to make that journey up the stairs into the mansion. He must've noticed her hesitation, because he quirked an eyebrow as he walked down the stairs closing the distance between them. It wasn't until he was standing right in front of her did she see just how unchanged he looked and that only made her smile even more. He leaned in a little closer and sniffed the air between them before stepping back.

"What, I showered this time." Katie said sniffing her shirt. She met his eyes to see him studying her.

"It's cold, you should come in." he said the lightness in his voice gone. There was that over protectiveness she recognized. she glanced up to the mansion and turned back to him.

"I'm mentally preparing myself for that." she said nudging her head to the building.

"Well then mentally prepare yourself in there." Logan replied bringing an arm around her and nearly pushing her toward the door.

"You're still so bossy."

"And you're sill so annoying. I thought you would've grown out of that." he bit back as they walked through the doors and Katie was immediately hit with the faces of friends she didn't think she would see again. It was the man who sat in his wheel chair smiling at her did she see first. She held his gaze as he rolled over to her.

"Professor," she greeted with a nod and a smile. She stood there before doing something no one in the room expected. She wrapped her arms around the man and hugged him tight. "I missed you Chuckie."

"I didn't miss that nick name." Xavier chuckled as he hugged her back. Once she pulled back she looked down to him. "Your life has been adventurous I see."

"You have no idea." Katie said smiling up to the faces of Scott Summers, Jean Gray and Ororo Monroe. "But I'm guessing I'm not the only one." she looked down to the professor. "I'm going to assume you know why I'm here." the professor nodded. "Erik Lehnsherr, I need to know where he is."

"I don't think you know what you're asking." Xavier replied and Katie's brow furrowed in confusion.

"What does that mean?"

"It means kid, save yourself the trouble." Logan interrupted and Katie turned back to him. "You're staying as far away from Erik as humanly possible."

"And if I refuse?" she asked and Logan chuckled, and Katie wasn't sure where the joke lied in her question.

"Aw kid," Logan said before reaching up and mussing her hair. "You're still a hoot."


	26. Chapter 26

_Inhale, exhale. Just breathe. It's strange, but Katie had to remind herself to keep breathing. Keep running and keep breathing were the only words running through her mind as she sped toward the large mansion. It was stupid really. She had no idea who or what was in this building, but she figured it was probably better than the SHIELD agents on her ass. The moment her hand touch the door knob, she stopped._

_"This is crazy." she whispered to herself as she mentally examined what she was doing. This was breaking and entering and she may have done some pretty messed up stuff in the past, but she usually kept her criminal activity online. She heard the sound of distant voices coming from somewhere and she couldn't think anymore. She twisted the knob and was shocked to find that the door actually unlocked. She slowly pushed open the door, slipping in as quietly as possible. It was dark, but there was light filtering in through windows. Her hand pushed the door closed, before she turned and stepped further inside. She swallowed hard as she tried her best to make as little noise as possible. "Ok, I'll just wait here for a little while." she muttered to herself before searching for somewhere to hideout. She walked aimlessly through the large house trying to figure out where exactly she was. There weren't any pictures on the walls, but the place was clean. There was creaking from above her and Katie lifted her head. "Definitely need to hide now." she sped walked until she ended up in a small kitchen._

_It was something about the sight of a kitchen that made Katie realize that she hadn't eaten in hours. The sound of her stomach growling seemed to reiterate the fact. She walked over to the refrigerator and smiled brightly. "Sweet." she muttered as she searched the fully stocked fridge for something editable. There was a covered dish that looked slightly appealing. She reached in and grabbed a small amount of whatever it was and brought it to her mouth. It wasn't terrible and at the moment that was good enough for Katie, so she grabbed it and closed the fridge behind her. With the dish in her lap, Katie slid down to the floor, behind the kitchen island and ate to her heart's content. She'd gotten so distracted that she nearly missed the sound of footsteps entering the kitchen. She froze, even pocketing the food she'd just placed in her mouth in her cheek. She heard the sound of the refrigerator opening and she had hope that whoever it was would just leave, but then something happened. Her head tilted slightly when she heard what sounded like someone sniffing the air._

_"Who's there?" she hears a gruff voice ask and her eyes snap open and she swallows the food that she was holding in her mouth. "I know you're there, so you might as well show yourself." She didn't move. Her mind remembers the route she took to get to the kitchen. She was fully prepared to take that route back to the door. "Hey, it's fine. You can go, I won't tell the professor." Katie quirked an eyebrow and then she heard the man move and she quickly dropped the baking dish and jumped to her feet. The room was still dark, but there was some light filtering in, showing her that the man in front of her was large, broad shoulders."You're not a student."_

_"No, I'm not." she said watching him closely just as she figured he was probably doing as well. She let her eyes flick over to the door behind him. It would be close, but she thinks if she's quick enough she can get past him. "Look, I have a good reason—“_

_"There's a good reason to break into a school?" the man asked and Katie's brow furrowed in confusion._

_"This is a school?" she asked, but soon realized that wasn't the point at the moment. "Never mind, that doesn't matter-"_

_"It kind of does." he said and Katie heard the undeniable sound of a knife being unsheathe. She stood a little straighter as her fists clenched at her side._

_"Right, so I see this is going to be one of those nights." she muttered stretching slightly._

_"Actually that won't be necessary." a voice said and they both lifted their heads at the voice._

_"Professor?" the man spoke. "What's going on?"_

_"Who are you—" Katie stopped talking when the lights came on. She was stunned into speechlessness as she looked upon the man's hands. "Is that real—well it can't be real." she met his eyes. "If that was real it would hurt like a bitch." her eyes were drawn back to his hands. "It sure does look real." She should probably stop staring, but she doesn't. She heard that sniffing sound and looked up to see that it was him._

_"You smell really bad." he said and Katie dropped her head to sniff her shirt to find that he was right, but that didn't give him the right to actually say it out loud._

_"Well your hair cut is weird!" Katie bit back. He didn't laugh, but he did shake his head as the knives retract back into his skin leaving no marks of their presence. She tilts her head as she begins to once again stare. "Why is that so cool?" his feet once again move and Katie quickly comes back to the present._

_"You're coming with me." he orders and Katie takes a futile step back, her back only hitting the wall behind her._

_"You're the last person I'm going anywhere with knuckle knives." she replied knowing it wasn't the cleverest reply, but cheeky none the less. She lifted her eyes looking around him to the door. She now had way too many questions about the man standing in front of her, making that escape plan of hers that much challenging._

_"It's is alright Katie." that voice said again. She didn't recognize it and that's when the implications of what was happening began to ring in her head._

_"Oh god." she mutters closing her eyes and bringing her hands to her head. "Is this happening? It would choose the most inconvenient time to happen."_

_"What's happening?"_

_"Me, going nuts. Hearing voices I don't recognize." Katie said glaring up to the man. "I just didn't think it would happen this soon...I'm still so young and—"_

_"Hey, I have no doubt that you're looney, but right now I have orders to take you with me." he says and Katie lifts her eyes to meet his. Her hands drop back down to her side and her fist clench instinctively._

_"That may be so, but I think you should know that I will not be going willingly." she says. "All I want is to get the hell out of here."_

_"And I would like to help you." a new voice says and they both turn to the man who seemed to appear out of no where. Katie looks down to the man in the wheel chair before trying to figure out when he got here._

_"Where the hell did you come from?" she asked turning suspicious eyes to the man who simply smiled at her. "Actually, it doesn't matter." she turned for the door, only for the tall guy to move to block her._

_"Logan." wheel chair guy said. Logan tore his glare from her to the professor, before moving out of the way. Katie didn't know what was going on, but she wasn't going to stick around to find out. Soon her feet were moving, running actually, that was until wheelchair guy appeared in front of her causing her to come to a sliding halt._

_"Where did—" she stopped because she heard heavy foot steps from behind her and she looked over her shoulder to see Logan headed in her direction. She turns back to the professor who simply looks up to her. "What are you?" suddenly the pieces start to fall into place and she doesn't need him to answer. "You're mutants."_

_"Yes we are. My name is Charles Xavier and this is my school." the professor says before looking over to the man behind her. "And this is Logan." Katie looks over her shoulder to see Logan holding just as much suspicion looking at her as she did looking back at him. Katie's eyes widen as the lights around her begin flicking on, illuminating the mansion._

_"I'm sorry for breaking into your house or school or whatever, but this is getting a little too bizarre and I would really like to leave now."_

_"They're still out there." Xavier said and Katie's eyes narrowed on him. "And they don't seem to be leaving anytime soon." she knew he was right. SHIELD would comb through those woods until they found something, anything that would lead them to her._

_"How do you know that?" she asked both suspicious and curious._

_"You came here for sanctuary, let me give it to you." he said and Katie was conflicted. She'd been taught by her father and by SHIELD to hold on to her suspicions, to doubt, but in this moment as she looked into the man's eyes, she just couldn't. She soon heard more foot steps and she turned to the staircase as three new faces appeared._

_"Professor, what—" it was the man who wore sunglasses who spoke. "Who is this?"_

_"Everything is alright." the professor replied before turning back to Katie. "This is Jean, Ororo and Scott. Jean will show you to a room where you can stay until it is safe for you to leave." Katie turned back to him and looked to him for a moment._

_"Why are you doing this?" Katie asked. She had so many questions at the moment, but that one was the one she just needed to be answered._

_"It's what we do." Xavier replies with a slight smile. Katie doesn't know what that means and he doesn't seem like he's going to explain it even more. She was still suspicious of this help without warrant. Katie looked at him for a moment longer before turning to the red head, Jean he called her, standing behind her. Katie looked back over to him and gave him a nod before following behind the woman. Once she was gone, Logan, Ororo and Scott surround the professor, each staring down to him for answers._

_"What's going on? Is she a mutant?" Logan asked and the professor simply shook his head._

_"No." the professor says bringing a hand to his chin as he looked over to the stairs. "But she is gifted. And very lost."_

Katie stared into the flickering flames of the fireplace in front of her before looking over to see Scott holding out a mug to her.

"Oh thank you Mr. Summers." Katie said graciously taking the mug. "And I must say your weird glasses make you look very menacing."

"You can stop with the sweet talk Katie, I already added extra marshmallows." Scott replied and Katie smiled as she looked down to her steaming cup of hot chocolate.

"You really know the way to a woman's heart, Scott." she sighed before taking a sip. She turned seeing that all the eyes in the room were on her.

"I guess now is as good a time as any to ask what everyone is wondering." Ororo said and Katie looked to her. "Why are you looking for Magneto?" Katie's eyebrows knitted in confustion at the name.

"Magneto?" she asked looking to their faces. "What is that?"

"Erik is Magneto." Xavier replied and Katie met his gaze. "He is a mutant who can control magnetic fields, all metal." the professor shook his head. "He is very dangerous."

"Which is why we won't be helping you find him." Logan said and Katie looked over her shoulder to see him standing behind her with a look of certainty on his face. "Hell that's why you and him won't be in the same room, ever."

"I think only one of us has metal running through their body." Katie muttered turning her glare away from the man. She looked back down to her mug and simply shook her head.

"Katie why are you looking for him?" Jean asked and Katie lifted her head.

"My—" suddenly the word mother got caught in her throat. She wasn't fully prepared to all out believe that she was alive, but she was aware that there was something going on that concerned her mother. "My mother. I'm not sure how, or when. But some time before I was born she knew a man named Erik Lehnsherr who she said was like a brother to her." she shook her head as she remembered her mother's words. She didn't know what to believe now that she knows she heard her mother speaking of this monster she was now being described.

"I'm not sure who your mother was talking about, but we've seen him first hand." Logan says and Katie sighs looking back over to him. "He's not filled with sunshine and dandelions."

"He wasn't always." the professor said and they looked over to see his eyes glazed over to the fireplace. "Once upon a time Erik was not a monster. The hatred he held in his heart turned him in to it." he turned back to look over to Katie. "I'm not sure he is who you should be looking for." Katie nodded before bringing the mug up to her lips. "You look tired, when is the last time you slept?" Katie looked up giving him a tired smile when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She sat her mug down on the coffee table before snaking her phone from her pocket and looked down to the familiar number.

"Who's Bart?" Logan asked and Katie looked up to see him hunched over the back of the couch looking down to her phone.

"My very, very angry husband." she said and she noticed he looked slightly surprised. She turned back to the others who held the same expression. "Yes, I got married and no I didn't tell him I was coming here, so I have to take this." she stood to her feet and walked out of the room before bringing the phone to her ear. "Did you watch the video?"

" _Where are you_?" he asked angrily.

"I am fine. I am safe, you don't need to come and find me. All of this is in the video." she replied as she rubbed her tired eyes.

" _There's no need to come and find you!" h_ e snapped and Katie pulled the phone away from her ear at his yelling. " _You are my wife and—"_

"And you are my husband and I spent the entire day wondering where you were!" she snapped, the anger she'd been feeling earlier seeming to creep back under her skin.

 _"Is that what this is about? Is this pay back or something, because I have to tell you that it won't work, I won't learn some lesson from this. I will however get even more angry which will fuel my desire to lock you in a room and just throw away the key."_ Clint snapped and Katie simply rolled her eyes.

"Know that I am safe, and that I am fine. You will take that and I will see you tomorrow." she turned to see Logan standing there watching her. "I have to go now."

" _Kat do not hang up this phone. Do not—"_ he ordered angrily.

"Goodnight Bart, I will talk to you tomorrow." Katie replied quickly before hanging up the phone. "Eavesdropping is not a very attractive quality in a man." he walked over closing the distance between them. Once he was in front of her he just stood there looking at her. "Stop doing that and speak damn you." she slapped his arm and he didn't give any hint that her blow actually hurt him, he simply smiled before shaking his head and turning and walking back into the den.

Clint growled angrily, wanting nothing more then to toss his phone into a wall. He spun around to Tony who sat on his couch, legs crossed with a glass of scotch still in his hand.

"Why aren't you up doing something?" Clint asked angrily. "We don't know where she is and when there are people out there trying to hurt her, not knowing where she is, is just not an option."

"Well my hands are sort of tied. She's kicked me out of the driver’s seat with my AI which I'm still coming to terms with, but we have one thing."

"What?"

"JARVIS, is Katie alright?" Tony asked lifting his head slightly as he always did when speaking to the AI.

"Katie's vitals are all fine. She and her baby seem to be perfectly healthy." The AI informed and Tony looked back over to Clint.

"There, she's fine. When she's not fine, I figure we'll know, so how about at the moment you chill out Katniss." Tony replied bringing his glass to his lips. Clint let out a frustrated growl before turning and stalking out of the penthouse. Tony shrugged before downing the rest of the contents of the glass before standing to his feet and walking over to pour another before something hit him like a strike of lightening.

"JARVIS, how did Katie get to wherever she is now?" Tony asked.

"I'm sorry sir, I can not—"

"Alright, alright, how about I rephrase the question. Is one of my cars gone?" Tony asked and it was as if the AI hesitated for a moment. "JARVIS?"

"Yes, the Telsa Roadster is gone." JARVIS replied and Tony's lips quirked up a bit at the information.

"Give me the Telsa's location." Tony ordered and suddenly a holograph screen appeared with a map, and a blinking red dot. "Alright Kitten, your clocks ticking and then I'm bringing you home."

_Katie followed behind the red-headed woman, taking in her surroundings. She made a note to remember where she was going._

_"What is this place?" Katie asked and the woman glanced over her shoulder._

_"This is a school for gifted children." Jean replied with a tired smile. "Where they can come when they feel there's no where else they can go."_

_"Why is he helping me?" Katie asked suddenly hoping to get a more helpful answers from the woman._

_"There is usually reasoning behind the professor's decisions." the woman replied with a slight smile. "But I have to admit, I'm not sure of this one." They stopped outside of a door and Jean reached forward and pushed it open. It wasn't entirely tiny. It was furnished with a bed and a desk and a couple of pictures on the wall. "There's a bathroom over there and I could bring you some clothes. I believe you know where the kitchen is if you get hungry."_

_"I'm not entirely sure what the hell is going on," Katie replied walking into the room and sliding off her jacket. She gave the place a once over before turning back to the woman. "And I don't completely understand it, but thank you._

_"You're welcome." the woman said before reaching forward and pulling the door closed. Katie stood in the room letting out a sigh as she plops down on the bed._

_"What the hell have I gotten myself into?" she muttered before falling back on the bed._

Katie walked back into the den, noting that all conversation stopped the moment she walked back into the room.

"That's not suspicious at all." she muttered as she walked back inside to take her seat. "There something you want to say, just say it."

"Should we be worried?" Scott asked and Katie looked over to him, not sure what he means. "The people you were running from—still running from, should we be worried?" It suddenly makes sense and Katie just shakes her head.

"No," she sighs. "No, I'm running from somebody else. Somebody I doubt would come here to look for me." she looked over to Logan as he opened his mouth, but she held up a hands. "And now I'm seconds away from passing out and could really use some sleep." she turned back to the others. "Is there room in the Inn?"

It felt like a moment plucked right from her past, Katie thought as she followed behind Jean down the long hall.

"We saw you on television." Jean said looking over to Katie who now walked at her side. "We never pictured you for one to take arms with heroes."

"Well neither did I, but I went with the wind." Katie replied with a tired smile. "It's strange isn't it? How all of this is happening, mutants and aliens, all this is happening and the world is just living blissfully ignorant to it all."

"Maybe that's how it needs to be." Jean replied and Katie nodded. "So your husband..."

"He deserved it, trust me." Katie replied with a shake of her head as they reached the door to her room. "He's doing this annoying thing where he's keeping things from me to protect me."

"Wow, that does sounds annoying. A loving husband, trying to protect his wife?" Jean asked with a shake of her head. "Who does he think he is?" Katie turned a playful glare to the woman before turning and pushing open the door.

"Would you believe me if I told you that I never expected to be in this room again." Katie said as she looked around the room that seemed so unchanged since the last time she was here.

"Why not?" Jean asked and Katie looked over to her. "It wasn't so bad the last time you were here."

"No, it wasn't but I was so afraid to be here."

"Of us?"

"Of me." Katie said with a shake of her head. "Of what me being here could do. Crazy right?" she looked over to Jean who gave her a sympathetic smile. "Don't mind me, I'm all—" she waved a hand.

"Pregnant?" Jean said and Katie looked over to her with wide eyes. "Logan,"

"Is a dead man. Damn him and his freaky nose. Could he smell the baby?" Katie replied before running her hand over her face. "Plus I wanted to be the one to tell you guys." she looked back over to Jean who was smiling even more. "And I was going to wait until I left so I wouldn't have to deal with that—" she pointed over to the woman. "All the smiling and the wanting to hug and rub my belly."

"Don't worry we won't smother you with love." Jean said lightly chuckling before turning. "Not yet anyways." Katie shook her head before slipping off her jacket. "I'll be back with some clothes for you."

"Thanks, Jean!" Katie called after the woman. Her response was the woman's light laughter and Katie simply shook her head before taking a seat on the edge of the bed. She slipped her hand over her belly and smiled. "One day baby, mommy is going to have a hell of a story for you."

_Katie had stepped out of the shower, now with a towel wrapped around her as she walked out to find a stack of neatly folded clothes on the bed. She looked around, but there was no one around. "I need to get the hell out of here, quick, fast and in a hurry." she muttered as she picked up the shirt. She shook her head before deciding to put them on. Once dressed she slipped on her jacket and slipped out of the room into an empty hall. There was only one objective and that was to get the hell out of the creepy mansion. Her foot had only touched one step when a creek sounded. "Shit." she whispered hoping no one had heard it. Once she felt safe, she continued down the stairs. Katie once again found herself walking down yet another long hallway, but she had no plans to stop. That was until she heard the sound of voices. She froze hoping that she wouldn't be found._

_"I think we all agree that at the moment we do not have time to take in the homeless." she heard a man say. It wasn't the professor and it wasn't Logan, so she was going to guess that it was the Scott guy. "We still have an Erik Lehnsherr problem."_

_"Of which I am fully aware, but I will not let our problems with Erik cloud our moral responsibilities." that was the professor speaking. He had a distinguishable voice, that Katie now realized she could recognize without even seeing him. "I believe that young woman is here for a reason."_

_"What reason exactly professor?" a woman's slightly accented voice spoke. Katie figured it must be Ororo. "I understand why you're doing this, but this woman is not one of us, so how can we help her?"_

_"I'm not sure yet." the professor replied and Katie could almost here the disappointment in his his voice. It confused her to no ends. People didn't do things for no reason. At least that's what she thought. She shook her head before pushing herself from the wall. This place—these people were too confusing and she really just wanted to leave. When she spotted the front door, Katie's feet seemed to move a little bit faster. She'd only stepped outside of the door before she was met with a familiar face._

_"So you're just going to leave without saying goodbye?" Logan asked, a cigar between his teeth._

_"I'm just doing everyone a favor." Katie said walking down the stairs. "No one wants me here, I don't want me here, so I thought I would just take the common denominator out of that equation."_

_"You know if I've learned anything from running it's that you can only move so fast." spoke Logan before inhaling the sweet tobacco from the cigar. "And you can only get so far." Katie stopped walking and turned back to him. It was strange. She stood there, his words seeming to play over and over in her head. For some strange reason she got the feeling that it was something her father would say to her in this moment. "You're tired, hungry, angry, sad and all of that is not something you want on you when you're running. Give it the night."_

_"I would but this place just seems borderline cultie to me." Katie replied folding her arms over her chest. "The come we will save you thing is beyond suspicious."_

_"Trust me, I know." Logan said before dropping the last bit of his cigar to the ground and killing the flame with the bottom of his boot. "It's also very annoying, but you don't find a lot of people who will help you without wanting something in return. When you do, maybe you shouldn't question it."_

_"That's like telling me, you don't find a lot of decoded processors when combing through enemy mainframes, when you do, you shouldn't question it." Katie said with a shake of her head. "I do question it. I question this and the whole not getting answers thing is getting slightly annoying." she looked over to Logan whose face held undeniable confusion. "Where did I lose you?"_

_"Decoded processors?" he replied and despite herself Katie laughed. "You don't smell so bad now."_

_"Your hair cut is still weird." Katie said walking back over to him. "Fine, I will stay, but if anyone offers me kool-aid, then I'm out of here." they both walked up the stairs back to the mansion._

Katie growled in frustration as she snapped open her eyes. She couldn't sleep and after every attempt to try, it just wouldn't happen. Tossing the covers off of her, Katie stood to her feet before slipping on a pair of socks and going out into the halls. It was ridiculously early, the sun barely up and she figured no one else would be either. She stumbled into the kitchen and headed straight for the refrigerator.

"Some things never change." a voice spoke from behind her and she turned to see Logan sitting at the small kitchen table, a few bottles of beer in front of him.

"In more ways then one." Katie replied before turning back to the fridge. She hit the jackpot when she spotted a tub of chocolate ice cream. She quickly grabbed it and then a spoon and joined the man at the table. "What's with all the booze?"

"What's with all the ice cream?" he asked and Katie shook her head.

"You obviously know since you've been blabbing." Katie said bringing a spoon into her mouth. "You could've at least come to me first."

"You would've denied it." he replied staring at her as she stuck the spoon into the ice cream and brought another scoop to her mouth. "So why didn't you tell this Bart guy you were coming here?"

"Pay back." she muffled as she worked the ice cream around her mouth. She met Logan's questioning gaze and sighed before dropping her spoon to the table. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Fine." Logan replied before grabbing one of the bottles and bringing it to his lips.

"So how has things been going around here?" Katie asked as she began eating her ice cream again. "Anything exciting happen?" Logan simply shrugged.

"I don't want to talk about it." he replied and Katie reached over and slapped his arm. They had settled into a comfortable silence, when Katie suddenly stopped. "What?"

"I'm vibrating." she replied before reaching into the pockets of her pajamas and pulled out her cell phone. She looked down to the ID and sighed.

"Looks like you're going to have to talk about it sooner rather than later." Logan said before standing to his feet. He gathered his empty bottles before tossing them in the trash and leaving her.

Katie let the phone ring for a while longer before working up the courage to finally answer it. She took one more deep breath before bringing the phone to her ear.

"Hi." she said simply

" _Hey_." Clint replied.

And then they she sat there in silence on the phone for a couple of more minutes. They both felt a slight twinge of comfort from the simple fact of knowing the other was on the phone.

" _I'm sorry._ " Clint said and Katie dropped her head on the table. " _You were right, I wasn't being completely honest with you and I thought the fact that I was doing it to protect you was reason enough to keep it from you."_ He let out a deep sigh and Katie could hear the exhaustion in his voice. He probably hadn't been to sleep either. " _But it's not. We are a team. You and me and that means we are honest. It means if we trust no one else, we trust each other. I broke that trust and for that I am sorry._ " she didn't say anything and he was afraid that she'd hung up. " _Kat_?" he heard a sniffle and he let out a frustrated sigh. " _Geez, please don't cry Kat, I just can't—I can't live with myself if I'm the reason you cry."_

Katie lifted her head and wanted to tell him that it was definitely too late for that, but in the spirit of moving forward she decided to just keep it to herself.

" _Kat_?"

"I'm sorry I left without talking to you. I was angry and I did want to get back at you, but that wasn't fair of me." Katie said drying her eyes with the sleeves of her shirt. They once again fell into silence, just listening to each other's breathing. "Bart, where were you?" he took a deep breath and Katie knew he'd been dreading that question.

_"Nat needed my help. Kane was in CIA custody and Coulson wanted him before he attempted and would likely succeed at escaping."_

"So you and Natasha—"

" _And Mason unfortunately._ "

"The three of you went on some op to take Kane from the CIA." Katie stated.

" _Yeah. He had answers we needed to find out who was after you and why. I needed to know Kat. I needed to know who was trying to hurt my family and I was going to hurt them first."_ Clint said and then waited for her to say something. The silence was slowly killing him and the not being able to see her face was partly to blame. At least if they were having this conversation face to face, he'd be able to read her expression, know what she was feeling. " _Kat, say something."_

"I'm sorry, I guess it's starting to sink in that Anna and Danny Smith really are disappearing from existence." Katie said with a shaky voice.

" _Kat—_ "

"I'm not angry Bart. Not at you for what you did. I understand why you did it and I love you for it. I just—" she let out another shaky breath and Clint wanted nothing more in that moment then to be able to see her or touch her. Anything to just make her feel better. "I wanted to hold on to it for a little while longer. But it's impossible. You are Agent Clint Barton and I am the girl with the screwed up parents with a target on her back. We can't run from who were are, right?"

" _You're more than that Kat, you have to know that. You have to know that one day we will have our lives back."_ Clint said and Katie just closed her eyes. It was then did she hear the strange sounds coming from Clint's end of the phone.

"What is that?" she asked opening her eyes. She listened a little while longer and that's when she recognized it. "Are you—"

" _Yeah_." Clint said looking up to the hologram screen of their baby, the sound of it's heartbeat playing around him. _"I couldn't sleep and I thought I would watch this again."_

"Again?"

" _Let's just say, I've watched this more times then I'm proud to admit out loud_." Clint replied and Katie could almost see the smile on his face. " _It's just it's—that's our baby Kat. Our baby. Ours."_ there was so much pride in his voice in that moment and Katie couldn't help the tug at her own lips. " _How can you love something you haven't even seen yet?"_

"I have no idea." Katie said her hand sliding across the slight bulge of her belly. "It's strange isn't it. This life isn't even here yet and it's already so important. The most important thing—" she shook her head and let out a sigh. "I really miss you."

 _"Kat, tell me where you are."_ Clint said, his voice filled with a slight desperation.

"I was serious before, I can't tell you because—" she looked around the small kitchen when she suddenly heard the sound of children. "It's really complicated. I will be back by the afternoon."

" _I_ _don't like this. I don't like not knowing where you ar_ e."

"I know and I'm sorry, but I need to see where this lead takes me."

" _It's about your mother?"_

"Yes and a man I think may know why she's being hunted. I just need a little while longer to try and find him."

" _Nothing dangerous. You do nothing that even reeks of danger._ " Clint ordered. " _Promise me."_

"I promise that I will not try to do anything dangerous." Katie said standing to her feet and going over to place the now empty ice cream container in the trash.

 _"Why don't I feel reassured by that?"_ Clint asked and Katie smiled. " _Kat—_ "

"Bart, I will keep this trip danger free if it is at all in my ability." Katie said as kids began filing past her. "I have to go now. I love you, bye." she hung up the phone and smiled as she walked back into the halls that were beginning to fill with children on the way to probably get their breakfast. She stood there for a moment, smiling. She wasn't sure why she was smiling or why the sight of these children made her smile, but she just couldn't stop.

"They look cute now," a accented voice says from beside her and Katie turns to see Ororo standing there watching the children as well. "But try living here twenty four seven and you'll be wanting to run for the hills." Katie laughed at the woman before turning back to the children.

"Yes, but you're here because you love it."

"I do." she said with a sigh. "I should go and make sure Jean and Scott aren't pulling their hair out trying to get everyone settled." Ororo was walking off when Katie called out to her.

"Wait, is the professor in his office?" Katie asked and the woman turned back to her and nodded.

"I think so, I could check if—"

"That's alright, I'll just look for him until I find him." Katie replied before turning and heading up the stairs.

Once Katie was showered and dressed, she stepped back into the halls to find them quieter than before. There were a couple of students milling about the halls, but not many. She figured the others must be in class. She walked, standing up straight, her bag held tightly in her hand as she headed down the hall. There was only one place she was going to get answers and she knew if anyone knew where she was going then they would stop her.

Clint was dressed and ready to go as he sat on the couch in the living room of their apartment. The only problem was, he had no idea where or when he would be leaving, all he knew was that he needed to be ready. He held his phone in his hand with a tight grip. Each passing minute was tortured and the only salvation he saw was when he could see her. There was a knock at the door and Clint jumped to his feet and was to the door in a flash. He quickly pulled open the door and visibly deflated the moment he saw who was on the other side.

"What do you want Stark?" Clint asked before turning and plopping back on his couch. "I'm not really in the mood."

"Oh, but I thought you'd be excited to go pick up your wife." Tony stated with a shrug. "If you don't, that's cool, I'll just—"

"Cut the crap!" Clint said standing back to his feet. "Do you know where she is?"

"Well yeah, I'm me. Not many nuts I can't crack and my Kitten seemed to have missed one detail about her little escape."

"So where is she?" Clint asked impatiently. He really wasn't interested in Tony's ever growing ego.

"Still in New York and about an hour or so away." Tony replied.

"Where exactly?"

"No idea, I can't find anything on the map." Tony said before clapping loudly. "What are you waiting for Robin Hood, shall we?" Clint shook his head before following after Tony into the hall. They stepped onto the elevator and fell into an uncomfortable silence.

"You could just tell me where she is and I'll go get her." said Clint as he glanced over to the man. "You don't have to come. I'm sure you've probably got wedding stuff to deal with."

"Not really. Pepper's not really letting me touch anything that has to do with the wedding, so I'm pretty much free." Tony replied looking up to the doors. "So stop trying to get rid of me, when I'm the one who did you a favor."

"What favor?"

"I found her. Me and I didn't have to tell you." Tony stated and Clint sent the man a glare. He didn't want to admit it, but he was right. "You're here, going along with me to find your wife because this is me giving you a chance."

"A chance at what?"

"To prove that you actually deserve her." Tony stated, making sure to look the man right in the eyes. They stood there like that until the doors slid open. Tony turned away and walked off onto the garage floor. "So any preference at which car we should take?" he looked back to Clint before shaking his head. "Never mind, doesn't matter. My cars, I choose." Tony turned and marveled at the sight of his enormous garage that was filled with only the best automobiles. A smile came to his lips as he walked down the aisle of cars.

_Katie didn't know how late it was until she woke up and found the halls oddly empty. She padded down the halls with her tube socked feet searching for some kind of life. It wasn't until she was downstairs did she spot a young boy running. He ran right past her and didn't stop as he turned a corner._

_"I guess this really is a school." Katie muttered as she continued down the halls. She would peek inside of rooms where she would spot even more classes. They all seemed to be subjects she hated when she was in school. All but one. She stopped and peeked inside of a classroom where she spotted the familiar face of Scott surrounded by students who sat in front of computers. Scott was currently seated at one of his students desk trying something on their computer._

_"I'm not sure what's happening here." Scott muttered as another message box popped up. He looked over to the student. "Maybe you could sit with another student for the rest of the class until we can get this fixed." The student simply nodded before going off to sit with a friend. Scott was standing to his feet when he spotted Katie in the doorway. "Hello?"_

_"Hi, I don't mean to interrupt, but I saw you were having issues with your computer and I—uh, I'm kind of good with computers." she said with a slight shrug. He looked slightly hesitant to invite her in and she couldn't blame him. He met her last night and they barely even spoke to each other. Letting her in with the students was probably the last thing he wanted to do. "Or not. Actually I'll just go." Katie turned just as Scott lifted his head slightly. He sighed before turning back to her._

_"Wait!" he called and Katie turned back to him. "I'm not one to turn away help." he said before holding out a hand to the computer. "And I can't figure out what's wrong." Katie smiled before walking in, not missing how all the eyes of the students went to her. She gave a slight smile and a wave before she took the seat in front of the computer. "Alright class, back to your lesson!" the students eyes went back to the screen as Scott looked down to Katie whose hands seemed to begin tying immediately._

_"I guess you do know something about computers." he muttered watching her fingers type effortlessly. Suddenly the screen was free of all message boxes and was once again normal._

_"You should probably tell your students that clicking on some of the ads on Facebook can carry viruses." Katie said lifting her head to Scott. "Or I don't know, tell them not to be on Facebook during class may help too." she stood to her feet and looked out to the students and waved again before heading for the door. Scott gave a slight smile before turning to his students._

_"Looks like we're going to have to crack down on our internet blocking, huh?" he asked gaining a few groans from his students._

_Katie smiled to herself as she walked down the halls. Even with her crazy life, some things would never change and that was her love for computers. She looked up when she saw Jean. The woman was reading something and didn't notice Katie. Katie was about to call out to her, but stopped when she saw the woman press a small panel one the wall and soon a key pad appeared. Jean typed in a code and just seconds later the wall opened, revealing an elevator. Jean stepped inside and Katie quickly moved out of view, but she peeked around just as the doors came sliding closed. She stood there for a moment, before feeling someone touch her shoulder causing her to nearly jump out of her skin. She turned and saw the confused look of Logan._

_"You need to wear a bell." Katie said placing a hand over her racing heart._

_"What are you doing?" he asked and Katie looked around. "Let me guess, you're lost?"_

_"How did you guess?" Katie asked with a slight smile. She had no idea what lie she was going to say and she was glad he helped her fill in the blanks._

_"You have that lost look about you." he said with a shrug. "The professor sent me to find you. He wants to see you in his office."_

_"I was sort of thinking I would get out of here." Katie replied looking over her shoulder to the wall that held a hidden elevator. "I'm not sure staying in one place is the best idea right now."_

_"Yeah, well at the moment I'm just the messenger, so come on." he ordered before walking down the hall. Katie cast one final glance to the wall before turning and following behind the man._

Katie stood in front of the wall wondering if she was doing something stupid...again. She shook her head because she already knew the answer to that question. Turning her head slightly down either side of the hallway, she made sure the coast was clear. It was and a part of her wished that it wasn't. It was strange, she almost wished someone would be here to stop her because it would seem that in situations like this, she had a hard time stopping herself. It's been years but the moment she saw Jean open this elevator was one of those rare memories that just stuck. She placed her hand in the exact spot she'd seen Jean and suddenly the panel appeared. A keypad appeared and Katie reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. She pressed a single button before letting the phone scan over the keypad. Soon possible combinations began appearing, until the most likely was found. Katie entered the code and took a slight step back as the wall moved, and the elevator appeared. She took a step, but stopped before she was actually inside.

"They will not forgive you for this." she whispered to herself. She looked up to the open elevator. It was like the path to her answers were right there, but she hesitated. She didn't know where that path lead and because of that she couldn't know what dangers lie ahead. Once upon a time the risks were fine with her, but now, now it was the baby on board that she worried about. She reached up and entered a code, closing the elevator. She stared at the wall for a while before she turned and froze.

"Professor?" Katie said looking down to the man who was staring back at her. "You knew I was going to do?"

"I knew what you intended to do, whether you actually went through with it or not, I think only you knew." he replied with a smile. "I'm proud of you."

"Well don't be, because what I just did was stupid." she said with a shake of her head. "I'm leaving." she was about to turn to go back to her room to gather her things before stopping and turning back to him. "Just tell me where he is."

"I can not—"

"I know. He's the big bad wolf and I should stay as far away as possible, I get that, I really do, but this isn't the first wolf I've gone up against." Katie walked over to stand in front of the man. "When my mother talked about him, she had this look. Like—" she sighed. "That look you get when you talk about someone you care about." she looked down to the professor. "It was the same look you had when you spoke of him."

"Erik is a different man now than he once was. Different from the man I once knew and most likely different from the man your mother cared about." said Xavier before turning and rolling away.

"What if he's not all that different?" Katie asked following behind him. "I've come to learn that the bad guys who were once good guys don't completely go bad. They can't. Humanity doesn't die. Morality doesn't die. It gets buried, so deep that they forget that it's there."

"You think you can remind Erik of his humanity?" Xavier asked stopping his chair and looking over to the woman.

"No, but I think my mother may be able to." Katie replied.

"How do you plan on doing that when he's tried to kill us on more than one occasion?" the professor questioned and Katie turned away in thought. He watched her closely before she let out an unattractive snort.

"Ok, so this may be a long shot, but have you ever heard of parlay?" Katie asked and the professor's brow furrowed in confusion. "It's like a temporary protection. I saw it in this movie, but that doesn't matter. Contact Erik, tell him that you want to meet with him, tell him that it will be totally and completely violence free."

"I can not promise that." Xavier sighed.

"Yes you can, cause I will be there," Katie replied. "And nobody fights around the pregnant lady." she turned to leave when the professor called after her.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I seriously have to pee!" she called, her feet suddenly moving even quicker.

Once the others were informed of Katie's plan, it was pretty clear their opinions on the matter and they had no problem of making it known.

"This is a bad idea professor." Scott said planting his hands on the professor's desk as he looked the man in the eyes. "There is no negotiating with Erik, if we walk in there he will not hesitate."

"I don't believe so." the professor replied. "She is right. When we were younger, Erik carried around a photo in his pocket, everywhere he went he had that photo. He never would show me who or what it was and when I would ask him about it, he'd say it was nothing. One day he dropped it, it must've slipped from his pocket but it was there on the floor and I picked it up and it was her." a slight smile came to the professor's face. "And then one day a woman stumbles into our school and she's the spitting image of that woman."

"I'm not letting her go in there." Logan declared and they turned to him. "I've seen what Erik is capable of and I'm not banking on him growing a heart the moment he sees her."

"Professor, do you honestly think this could work?" Ororo asked and they all turned to Xavier who let out a loud sigh.

"The truth?" he asked and they all silently nodded. "I don't know. I know that the Erik I once knew is definitely not the man who stands today, but I also know that if there is just a sliver of humanity left in him, she would be the one to find it."

"Do you think he would even agree to meeting?" Jean asked.

"He already has." the professor replied and they all looked to him with wide eyes. "I've already spoken to him and at the mention of the woman from the picture, he agreed."

"I don't like this." Logan said with a shake of his head. "It's dangerous."

"That may be so, but I'm afraid us refusing to do this will stop her. She is very determined to find the truth about her mother."

"So you're saying if we don't help her, she'll just find another way to find Erik." Scott replied and the professor nodded.

"At least if we do this, we go and we stick to the background, we can protect her if things go south." Ororo added. She looked over to Logan who still looked unsure.

Katie walked down the stairs of the mansion, dodging running kids. She smiled slightly as she watched them playing. She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and snagged it quickly bringing it to her ear.

"Hello husband." she greeted happily.

 _"Ah, sorry kitten, you do not have the pleasure of calling me that._ " Tony replied and Katie's brow furrowed.

"Oh, sorry Tony, I thought you were Bart. What's up?" she asked as she continued down the stairs.

" _So I have a question and I would like for you to answer honestly._ " Tony replied. Katie stopped and listened. " _Who do you know at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters?"_ Katie began scanning the building.

"How—" she stopped and it suddenly hit her. "The damn car. I forgot to block you from tracing that damn car."

" _Well can you blame me? You stole a very valuable car._ " Tony countered and Katie groaned in annoyance. " _Now be a sweetheart and tell who’s ever in charge to open the gate_."Katie's eyes widen as she rushes for the door and stops to see the car across the large yard behind the gate.

"You're here?"

" _Yeah_."

"And me telling you not to find me, just went in one ear and out the other."

" _Pretty much."_

"Bart—"

_"Is here, and he's dying to get out of the car, so if you wouldn't mind?"_

Katie ended the call and dropped the phone to her side. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath.

"What's wrong?" she heard Logan asked. She turned to see him and the rest of the team headed her way.

"I need someone to open the gate." Katie said simply and she noticed the questioning looks wash over the face. "My husband is here and—" she shook her head. "Tony Stark." Jean nodded before lifting her head slightly and focusing her power on opening the gate.

"Wait, Tony Stark is here?" Scott asked with a slight smile. "The Tony Stark. Iron Man Tony Stark?"

"You may want to fan boy it down." Jean muttered nudging Scott's arm before turning back to Katie. "Why are they here?"

"Probably to drag me back home." Katie muttered with a shake of her head.

"Good," Logan said and Katie turned her gaze to him. "Maybe one of them can talk some sense into you."

"I have enough sense, actually."

"Not enough if you think you can walk up to Erik and make him a real boy." Logan countered. "He's dangerous, he's a murderer, and you're not going to see him."

"You do not tell me what to do—"

"But as the father of the life you're carrying, I believe I get a say." a voice says and she turns to see Tony and Clint standing there, both looking utterly confused. "Kat, I think we need to talk."

Clint and Katie ended up back upstairs in her room, away from all the others. Katie thought that if she could talk to Clint alone, that maybe she could make him understand.

"Bart—"

"No!" he answered instantly and Katie shot him a glare.

"You don't even know what's going on."

"I think I caught the important parts. You, someone whose dangerous and a murderer, in the same room. It's so not happening Kat."

"You haven't even heard my side of the story!"

"Fine, then go ahead, but I'm pretty sure I'm not bending on this one."

"I watched another video on the flash Fury gave me. This one was an interview of my mother conducted by SHIELD. It was one of those final observation things new employees have to take before they're assigned. Well I was watching this video and my mother mentioned this friend from when she worked on some base in Germany. His name was Erik Lehnsherr and he's the same man who the professor once knew. The professor has set up this meeting with Erik, and I'm going to just ask him some questions."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"And when does the fact that he's dangerous and a murderer come in?" Clint asked and Katie huffed in annoyance. "You don't see how dangerous this could be."

"I do see how possibly dangerous this could be, but I also saw something else. The way my mother talked about him. She really cared about him and I have to believe that feeling was mutual. I don't think he will hurt me, not if he cared for her."

"You're banking a lot on instincts and feelings." Clint replied with a shake of his head. "When it comes to you and it comes to our kid, I need facts, which you don't have."

"I didn't have facts when I told you SHIELD was full of shit, but look how that turned out!"

"You and I both know that you were lucky!" Clint snapped and Katie turned away from him. "Kat—" he took a step toward her and to his dismay she backed away. "Your instincts, nine out of ten are usually correct. But there's still that one percent." Katie brought her eyes back to him. "And usually one percent is a small number, but when I think about the possibilities. The thought that you or our baby could get hurt, then that one percent isn't as minimal as it once was. See this from my side—"

"I do." Katie interrupted with a sharp nod. "I understand what you're saying completely."

"But—"

"No buts, you're right. This is dangerous and could end badly." she said with a shake of her head before grabbing her jacket and slipping it on.

"Kat," Clint said knowing she was obviously upset. "We will figure out another way to get answers, I promise."

"You mean like breaking into government agencies and kidnapping hit men?" Katie asked turning a glare to him. "I know my definition of what's dangerous and what's not could be a little skewed at times, but that seems like right up there, don't you think?"

"That was different and you know it. I'm not the one—"

"Carrying a life inside of them, I know!" she snapped. "I get why I have to be careful. I get why I have to avoid the risks, because it's not just me I have to worry about." Katie shook her head before grabbing her bag and tossing it over her shoulder. "My father taught me how not to be weak and now it's forced upon me." she muttered before storming out the door.

"Kat, wait!" Clint called chasing after her. She's made it halfway down the hall before Clint had grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. "You're not weak."

"Whatever, let's just get back to the tower." Katie replied before turning and heading down the stairs.

"No, it'll be no problem at all." she heard Tony say to Scott. "I have a couple of ideas now, right off the top of me head."

"That's never a good sign." Katie said and they all looked over to her. "What are you doing now?"

"Did you know that all these guys are mutants?" Tony asked with a wide smile. He turned back to Scott. "I mean I've seen the news and all that, but never met one and I have to say it's kind of awesome."

"Well the feelings mutual Mr. Stark." Scott replied with a wide smile of his own.

"Call me Tony." the scientist replied before reaching into his jacket and pulling out a business card. "Take my card. I have a feeling that we could do some very good work together." Scott took the card graciously. "And I definitely will start some mock ups on some new specs for you."

"That would be kind of awesome!" Scott replied, his bright smile never wavering making Jean roll her eyes. Tony gave the man a nod before turning back to Katie and Clint who both looked obviously upset. Tony sent a glare to Clint before walking over to Katie.

"Do I get filled in on what's happening, now?" he asked and Katie met his eyes.

"Nothing's happening, we're going back to the tower." she replied simply and Tony narrowed his eyes before glancing back to Clint.

"Good." Logan spoke and Katie sent the man a very pointed look. "Give all the dirty looks you want to kid, but your plan was stupid." Katie walked over to the man and punched him in the shoulder and he gave no indication that it hurt one bit. "Feel better?"

"A little." she replied before bringing her arms around him in a hug. "Your over protectiveness is annoying."

"You're welcome." he replied and Katie couldn't help the smile that pulled at her lips. "Now I think I'm going to go introduce myself to your husband." before he could move past her, Katie grabbed his arm.

"Be nice." she ordered and he simply smirked before walking over to Clint. Katie went to say goodbye to the others, giving them each a hug. It wasn't until she pulled from the hug with Jean, did she realize someone was missing. "Where's the professor?"

"I think he's still in his office." Ororo replied.

"I'm going to say goodbye and then we can go." Katie called over to Clint who nodded before turning back to Logan who towered over him slightly. Katie turned to Jean. "Make sure Logan behaves please." the woman nodded before watching Katie walk down the hall.

_Katie stood staring out a large window that over look the front of the mansion. She smiled as she watched the many children and teenagers running and playing. She heard the motor of the professor's wheelchair before he spoke._

_"This is nice." she spoke not turning to him. "You're giving them something they wouldn't have gotten anywhere else." she turned away slightly. "I think I'm kind of jealous."_

_"Why?" Xavier asked._

_"Because I didn't get the chance they did." she replied turning to him. "They get the opportunity to be somewhere and feel like they belong. They don't have to live with the burden of being surrounded by people and still feeling alone."_

_"Do you feel alone?"_

_"Oh, I am alone Professor." Katie countered turning back to look out the window. "It's my curse. I was born to have everyone I care about leave me."_

_"I can't see anything that would make me believe that you would deserve such a curse." the professor replied and Katie chuckled to herself._

_"You do not know me professor." she sighed staring out to a basketball game where one of the players disappeared and then reappeared shooting the basket._

_"That is true, but I believe those who are alone, choose to be alone." he said and Katie turned her gaze to him. "The world is filled with billions of people giving you numerous opportunities to not be alone." Katie turned back to look out the window. "You don't have to be alone."_

_"Are you offering me sanctuary, professor?" Katie asked glancing back to him to see a smile on his face. "I don't think you should bend your definition of gifted just to take in a stray."_

_"There is only one definition of gifted and that is having exceptional talent or natural ability." the professor spoke proudly. "You may not be a mutant, but you are gifted."_

_"And I am dangerous." Katie replied seriously. "I have people looking for me, who will not stop until they find me and I will not put you and this school in the middle of that."_

_"Katie—"_

_"Professor—" Katie interrupted turning to the man and crouching down on one knee in front of him, bringing them eye to eye. "For as long as I remember, I didn't believe that there were people with good hearts. Everyone did something for some kind of personal benefit. And then I met you and your team and I realized that there is something here. Something on this planet that isn't totally corrupted, so I want to say thank you for that."_

_"You do not have to run."_

_"Yes I do professor." Katie replied with a slight smile before standing up and leaning forward to press a kiss to his cheek. "But at least now I know that there is a place I can run back to."_

Katie walked into the professor's office to find him staring off at nothing in particular. At first she wondered if she should disturb him, but then he turned to her and smiled.

"I'm going to assume you know that I'm not going." she said and he nodded. "I get why I have to do this, but I just—" she shakes her head. "I can't explain it, but I know it would've worked. I know Erik would help me."

"I believe you." the professor replied before pushing his wheel chair from behind his desk and over to her. "I'm sorry you won't get the chance to see it through."

"That's what I hate the most. Not at least giving it a shot. Because then if I tried it and failed, at least I would know why, but not even attempting is—" she shook her head. "My father is probably rolling in his grave right now."

"I don't believe your father would be disappointed in you." Xavier replied and Katie smiled before giving him a nod. "You would make him proud." Katie bit back tears that she felt wanting to fall before walking over and bringing her arms around the professor. "You are not alone."

"No, I'm not." she whispered before pulling back. "Took me a while to figure that out."

"But you did and that's all that matters." he replied. Katie grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before turning and heading for the door. She stopped right before she was about to leave before turning back to the man. She had only opened her mouth before he spoke first. "Yes, we do accept enrollment applications from non mutants." Katie smiled with a shake of her head before turning and walking out of the office. The professor watched as she closed the door behind her and the moment she did, the smile fell from his lips. He let out a deep sigh before turning and looking toward the window. "I hope this is not a mistake."

After saying their final goodbyes, Katie, Clint, and Tony packed into their cars to leave. Clint decided to drive with Katie, glad he wouldn't have to endure another hour trapped inside of a car with Tony. They were driving down a winding road, following behind Tony when Clint glanced over to Katie who stared out the window.

"Talk to me." he said and Katie glanced over to him and gave him a sad smile. "You're upset."

"Yeah, I am, but you were right. We'll find another way." Katie said reaching over and placing her hand on Clint's knee. She knew he probably needed reassurance that she really was alright.

"Look when we get back, we can—" The loud screeching sound of the breaks being pressed echoed through the car. Katie let out a scream as they're bodies jerked with the forceful stop of the car. "Kat!" Clint unclasped his seat belt and turned to his wife, placing his hands on her arms. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?" he looked her over for any indication that she either of those questions was a yes, before bringing his eyes to hers. She was silent as her eyes looked to something in front of him. His gaze followed hers and his eyes widen at the man in the red a gray outfit, with the cape that blew in the wind who stood staring at them. Clint's eyes travel to the weird helmet that's on the man's head. Without thinking Clint tries to push the gas pedal, but the car doesn't move. He hears a car door and turns to see Tony stepping out of his car. "Shit." he turns back to Katie. "Kat, stay here." Katie doesn't say anything as she continues to stare at the man whose eyes seem to be locked on hers as well. Clint gives her hand a squeeze before jumping out of the car.

"Any idea who this clown is?" Tony asked as he and Clint stood staring to the man who hadn't moved since they were stopped.

"No idea, but I'm not interested in finding out." Clint replied.

"No worries, I have a suit on it's way here." Tony replied before hearing a slight growl from behind them. They both turn to see a large, hairy man with sharp teeth, standing beside a woman whose skin is completely blue. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say these guys are mutants too."

"What was your first clue?" Clint said eying the large beast man closely. "I need to get Kat out of here."

"I'm all for us all getting out of here." Tony said leaning in slightly to try and get a better look at the woman's blue skin. "Do you think that's paint?" Clint grabbed Tony's shoulder, figuring the man's curiosity would just land them into even more trouble. Both turn at the sound of a car door closing and they look to see Katie stepping out of the car.

"Kat!" Clint called about to go over to her when the large beast man growls.

"I get the feeling that meeting none of us wanted to happen is just about to happen." Tony says as they turn and watch Katie walk over to the man.

The moment Magneto's eyes meet hers, he seems taken aback. It was uncanny he thought as he watched her walk over to him.

"You must be Erik." Katie says making sure to keep a good distance from him. He doesn't say anything right away as he looks her over. "I'm—"

"You're the daughter of Angelika Bergkeller." Erik said his voice slightly softer than usual. "You are the spitting image of her." Katie cleared her throat, now becoming more nervous than she anticipated. The man in front of her held a lot of power and that didn't hit her until this very moment. "Charles said you wished to meet me."

"Yes."

"I thought he would inform you that I am not one who you should want to meet. I'm not one who openly converses with people like you."

"People like me?" Katie asked before it hit her. "Non-mutants." he nodded slightly. "Well I just have one question for you and you can continue your life of human hating." Katie replied not missing the slight smile the crept on the man's face. "My mother, who I was made to believe died giving birth to me apparently held a secret. One that is causing a lot of bad people to come after me to get to." she shook her head. "They seem to believe she's alive and that I'm the key to finding her." she brought her eyes to the man. "Do you know what about my mother would put her at the top of the must have list for bad guys?"

"You don't know, do you?" he asked and Katie nearly rolled her eyes at the question. "You have no idea who your mother was." Katie quirked an eye brow at the cryptic statement. The man chuckled to himself with a shake of his head. "You foolish girl. You should pray your mother is dead." his voice grew deep and serious, causing Katie to take a step back. "Because if she isn't then she could be holding the key to turning the entire world on it's axis."

"What are you talking about?" Katie asked impatiently.

"Your mother found a way to do what no other could. Even I who tried and failed, couldn't replicate it." Erik said with a sigh. He met Katie's questioning gaze and leaned forward ever so slightly. "Your mother found a way to make you and I one in the same."

"What does that mean?" Katie asked but before he could reply, a strike of lightening sounded above them.

"I'm sorry, but I believe our meeting is being cut short by the pains in my ass." Erik replied with an obvious look of annoyance. He took a step back. "I guess I should thank you."

"Why?"

"You've just given me a new purpose." and with that the man raised his hands and flew up to the sky. Katie watched as he suddenly flew away.

"Kat!" Clint called and she turned to see him and Tony running over. She looked past them in time to see a van pull up and the large beast and the blue woman step inside and drive away. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." she replied as he brings his arms around. There was another strike of lightening and they all look up to see Ororo descending upon them.

"She's not from Asgard is she?" Tony whispers as the woman lands in front of him. He shakes his head, figuring the question probably wasn't important at the moment. "Never mind."

"Kat, what did he say?" Clint asked and they all turned to her.

"He said—" Katie shook her head trying to decipher the man's cryptic words. "She found a way to make him and me one in the same." she looks up to Storm. "He said she did something that he tried and failed to do." Ororo's eyes widen as she turns away, only one thing coming to her mind. "Ororo, what is it?"

"Magneto attempted to create a device that could turn humans into mutants, but it didn't take. Within just hours the human would die." the woman said and they all just stood there silently, the implications of her words falling into place.

"No." Katie said with a shake of her head, not able to believe what she was hearing.

"I'm sorry, are you saying that you think Katie's mother some how successfully found a way to replicate the mutant x gene, in non-mutants?" Tony asked and Ororo turned to him and simply nodded. "Well shit."

* * *

**Back on Asgard, in the deepest darkest cell underneath the castle.**

There is a single drop of water falling from somewhere. Each drop echos through the small cell as heavy footsteps march down the hall and steps in front of the cell. Inside the cell is a woman, the infamous Seer captured by Thor and forced into imprisonment, sits cross legged on the concrete floor her eyes closed not even bothering to open them for her visitor.

"I know who you are." the woman's gravely voice sings, followed by a throaty laugh. "You can hide, but I can see you." she opens her eyes to the face of the Allfather who looks none too amused. "Daddy's not happy with you." he points a sector toward the woman who suddenly feels her throat crushing, and the air struggling to make its way out of her lungs. "You...are not...safe." she manages through shallow breaths.

"Tell me what you saw." his voice almost growls and though her face is now turning blue from lack of oxygen, a smile tugs at her lips.

"Your heart will be your downfall." she states, the manic smile never parting from her features. "Her heart will stop beating and there is nothing you can do about it." with a jerk of his scepter, the woman's neck snaps and she falls limply to the floor.

"Wanna bet?"


	27. Chapter 27

Some things are just too impossible to resist. Clint stood at the end of their bed, staring down to his sleeping wife with a wide smile on his face. Her t-shirt had rode up in her sleep, now revealing her rounded belly. As he stood there, there was only one thing he wanted to do. He sat down on the bed, sliding slightly, trying his best not to wake her. The moment he was close enough, his hand slid across the bare skin of her stomach. They were four months in and it was still unbelievable. He leaned forward and brought his lips to her stomach, kissing it ever so gently. Soon he felt fingers comb through the back of his hair and he looks up as her eyes blink open.

"Good morning, Mrs. Barton." he whispered and a tired smile came to her lips as she watched him look back down to her stomach. "Good morning baby Barton." he places another kiss on her belly and he hears a slight giggle escape her lips.

"My turn." she says and Clint smiles as he crawls up to her, bringing his lips to hover above hers for a moment. Her hand slides across his cheek, before her thumb crosses over his bottom lip.

"God, you're beautiful." he admired and she smiled up to him before his lips captured hers taking her breath away. Their lips never part as Clint's hand snakes under her thigh pulling her leg over his hip bringing him impossibly closer to her. His lips move to the nape of her neck and a soft moan escaped her lips as her legs tighten around his waist.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Stark is outside requesting to enter." JARVIS says, his voice cutting through the room like an uninvited guest. Clint stops his kisses and they both groan in frustration.

"Tell Stark to go away!" Clint orders before bringing his lips to nibble at her collar bone.

"That—" she gasps when his lips touch the sensitive spot under her ear. "Won't work."

"Seems to be working to me." he says as his hand reach for the elastic of her pajama bottoms, pulling them down slow and with purpose before bringing her leg back around his waist.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark is insisting on entry." JARVIS once again interrupts and Clint growls before dropping his head on her shoulder.

"Tony Stark, the mood killer." Clint groans before lifting his head. "I'm going to get rid of him." Clint moved to stand, but Katie grabbed his arm. "What?"

"I think I should get rid of him." Katie said and Clint gave her a questioning look. "Unless you want him to see more of you then you would be comfortable." her eyes glanced down to his erect member and he followed her gaze and sighed. "I'm just saying, you'll never hear the end of it." Clint nods in agreement before rolling off of her onto his back. Katie leans over and presses a kiss to his cheek. "I'll be back." she stands from the bed, grabbing her robe before walking from the room to the door. Once she opens it, she finds Tony standing in front of the open security panel and she sighs. "What are you doing?"

"I will figure out what the hell you did." he said closing the panel closed before looking over to her. "What, you're still in bed sleeping?"

"In bed yes, sleeping not so much." Katie replied folding her arms over her chest. Tony's makes a disgusted face before looking down to her stomach.

"Very inappropriate parents you have tweetie." he says before reaching forward and rubbing her belly. She smiles looking down to his hand.

"This is new." she murmered looking up to him. It didn't go unnoticed that Tony was trying his best to not even acknowledge the protruding bulge of her belly.

"Yeah, well." he says before pulling his hand back and looking back up to Katie. "So, get dressed. Let's go." he clapped his hands for emphasis, which only annoyed Katie. "Chop, chop"

"And where are we going?" Katie asked.

"Down to the lab. You know what today is don't you?" Tony asked and the confused looking on Katie's face was answer enough. "That's right, I forgot to tell you."

"Forgot to tell me what?"

"I may have invited Elizabeth Ross here to help with our Bruce problem." Tony said and Katie's eyes went wide. "Is that a ‘great idea Tony, you're a genius’, look?"

"No, it's a you're a dumb ass, look." Katie replies before smacking his arm.

"Why are you so violent?" Tony asked grabbing his arm and pulling away slightly. "And what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that Elizabeth Ross is the daughter of a man who has tried on numerous occasions to trap our friend and harvest his insides to make super soldiers."

"Which had absolutely nothing to do with her, so come at me with a better argument kitten."

"Ok, how about the fact that she's a major bitch." Katie replied with a sharp nod and Tony couldn't help but smirk at the look on her face. "I'm so serious."

"I know, which is why this is all too amusing." Tony said before leaning on the door frame in front of her. "Please enlighten me."

"Well she— she had me arrested." Katie said and Tony quirked an eyebrow waiting for her to elaborate. "When I went to visit Bruce to pass along my data for the nanomeds."

"You mean that time you locked him in the men's bathroom and threatened him with a fire extinguisher?" Tony asked and Katie turned away. "You mean she didn't open her arms to hug you for acting like a crazy person? That bitch!" Katie turned a glare to him. "You're being a child. Bruce needs help. Help that I can't give him and help that you can't give him. We need an expert in all things gamma and since our resident expert can't control when he changes into a giant monster, we are going to move to the alternative."

"Well I don't like her." Katie said with a shrug. "So I'm not coming." she stepped back before reaching for the door, but Tony grabbed the door stopping her.

"You're kidding?" Tony asked and the expression on her face didn't look like she was joking. "You have to be kidding, because I know you wouldn't dare put your childish dislike of a woman, who could possibly help someone you claim to care about, first." Tony said and Katie sighed loudly. "No, not my kitten."

"Tony last week I found that my mother probably knew the secret to the possible end of the world, I'm being hunted by an evil terrorist organization, I can't fit any of my clothes, and yesterday I ate an entire chicken by myself. I have enough problems of my own so please understand why I can't see this woman." Katie huffed looking to Tony, waiting for him to say something.

"I heard a lot of this." Tony said flapping his hand to mimic her talking. "The truth is, as it always has been, Bruce needs help. We are the brain trust around here, so get dressed and meet me down in the lab." and with that he turned and walked away. Katie took a step back and slammed the door closed before letting out a frustrated growl.

"Kat?" Clint said running out into the living room. "What's wrong?"

"Having a conscience is a major bitch!" she snapped before stalking passed him back into their room, leaving her husband utterly confused.

Clad in a pair of black yoga pants, a Stark Industries t-shirt and a pair of Ugg boots, Katie rode the elevator in utter silence. Clint stood beside her, glancing over to her ever so often. He didn't saying anything, well he knew not to say anything. His wife's mood swings were getting too unpredictable and he was only starting to realize that he should probably just try to stay on her good side. Once the doors opened, they both spotted Tony who was looking up to a hologram screen, Bruce's face looking back to him.

"Did you just ask why am I upset!" Bruce snapped and the green tint of his skin was hard to miss. "You had no right to call her!"

"I have every right because my friend is locked in a room!" Tony argued. "So you can yell and hulk out all you want, the truth of the matter still remains that we need her help to figure out what the fuck you did to yourself." Bruce's eyes lift to see Katie and Clint.

"And you let him do this?" Bruce asked and Katie lifted her hands.

"This was all Tony, Elizabeth Ross is the last person I want here." Katie replied sending a glare to Tony. "You shouldn't have called her."

"Why because she had the common sense to send you to jail a million years ago?" Tony asked and Katie shook her head before turning to Clint.

"I'm going to strangle him at some point today, so when I give you the signal, I want to turn away ok? No witnesses." Katie said in a loud whisper, so Tony could hear.

"Funny." Tony called.

"Mr. Stark, Mr. Banks has arrived with Dr. Ross." JARVIS informed.

"Excellent!" Tony called before looking over to Katie. "You're going to behave," he turned to the screen to Bruce. "And you're going to shut up and take the help." Tony clapped his hands. "Alright, let's do this."

"Ok, the clapping thing is seriously annoying." Katie muttered before Clint's snake around her back turning her to face him.

"Ok, how about you calm down now." Clint says pulling her closer to him. Katie closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "What is this about? You've probably been arrested dozens of times, why are you hanging onto this one?" Katie's eyes snap open, a glare fixed directly on him.

"Are you taking Tony's side?"

"I'm not taking anyone's side, I'm just—"

"No, it definitely sounds like you're taking Tony's side and that's fine, really." Katie says before turning and looking over to Tony who was busy looking at something on another on of the screens. "Hey Tony, Clint agrees with you!" Tony lifts his head and looks over to the pair in confusion. "I just thought you should know the reason why he will be sleeping on your couch." she turns back to Clint who shakes his head and takes a step away from her.

"Alright," he says with a sigh before leaning forward to press a kiss to her cheek. "I'm just going to ignore your moment of insanity." he brings his eyes back to meet hers. "I don't have to go."

"Yes you do. Right now Kane is our only lead to finding out more about my mother." Katie pointed out. "We need to know what he knows if we ever want to cross this bridge."

"We will, ok? We will figure all of this out." Clint assures before pulling her against his chest so he belly touches his stomach. "I promise." she fists his shirt before pulling him to her lips in soft kiss that was interrupted by Tony clearing his throat.

"We've discussed this!" he called looking over to them. "There is no swapping of any bodily fluids in my lab." they both glared over to him at his choice of words. "Don't worry, there will be a sign very soon." Katie rolled her eyes before turning back Clint and pressing her lips to his in a chaste kiss before he pulled away.

"Do you have your new phone?" Katie asked and Clint slipped it out of his pocket to show her. It was one of the stipulations for his little trip. He would have to get one of Tony's new cell phones which would allow him to have a signal in even the darkest, deepest holes in the world. "Good, so if I call, you should probably answer."

"I will answer." Clint says before looking over to Tony. "She does not go into that room with him until he's fixed." Clint looks up to the screen to Bruce. "No offense, doc."

"None taken and don't worry, no one is allowed in this room." Bruce replies before turning to his own computer that he had in the safe room. Clint looks back over to his wife.

"You will keep calm and not over work yourself. I think Jane and Darcy are going to be helping out too, so I'm sure Darcy will be the voice of reason." Clint says before reaching out and sliding a hand across her stomach before turning and heading to the elevator. Once he stepped on, he turned and gave her a wave. "Call me if you need me and I'll be here." she nodded right before the doors closed.

"Finally!" Tony calls and Katie turns a glare to him. "Sorry kitten, but right now all the brain power needs to be focused on saving our Brucey bear."

"Never ever call me that Tony." Bruce said not even sparing the man a glance.

"Look, I would prefer to keep my distance from Dr. Ross, so I'm going to take the dehulking device and work in the other lab." Katie said before walking over to the cart that held the device. "If I figure out something, I'll let you know and you could do the same." she began pushing the cart toward the far end of the lab, before the sliding doors slid open revealing a smaller section of the lab.

"So why does my kitten not like your ex?" Tony asked once Katie was out of ear shot. Bruce pulled off his glasses and turned back to the man and sighed. He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could the elevator doors open and there she was. Tony followed the man's gaze and smiled. Betty Ross seemed like the kind of woman Tony could imagine Bruce going after. She had bright eyes, dark hair that stopped at the nape of her neck. Her eyes lifted to the screen immediately as she stepped off of the elevator, Matthew trailing behind her.

"Dr. Ross, I'm—" Tony held out a hand for her to shake, but she moved past him to look up to Bruce's face.

"I know who you are, Mr. Stark," the woman said waving a hand back to him as she frowned up to Bruce. "What did you do?"

"Betty—"

"Don't Betty me, from what Mr. Stark sent me, your entire biostructure has been manipulated and I'm guessing not in the way you hoped." She let out a deep sigh before meeting his eyes. "You could've killed yourself and then I—" she stopped the words before she made them real.

"I'm sorry Betty, but you don't understand what this is. What this does to me." Bruce shook his head. "I have no chance for any kind of life with him inside of me."

"What I saw on tv—you in New York, didn't seem like a bad life." Betty countered with a soft smile.

"That wasn't me, that was him. He has a purpose, me, I'm just stuck on this ride." he said with a shake of his head. "You shouldn't have come Betty."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want you here!" Bruce snapped before pressing a button and suddenly his face is gone. The lab fell into a brutally awkward silence and of course Tony couldn't stand for that.

"Well now that greetings are out the way, should we get to work?" Tony said with a firm clap of his hands. Betty dropped her head before releasing a deep sigh and turning to him.

"I would like to see his most recent blood work, and I'm going to need a copy of his medical history." the woman informed as she stripped off of her jacket and sat it on a nearby table. "Where will I be working?"

"I thought you would be more comfortable in Bruce's lab." Tony said and the woman gave him a questioning look. "Oh, this massive piece of artwork is mine." he looked around the lab and smiled. "Bruce calls it gaudy which is why I created something more quaint for him." he nudged his head for her to follow him.

"I'm just going to—" Matthew turned toward the elevators.

"Wait!" Tony called and the man turned to him. "You should probably go speak to your sister before you disappear." he pointed to the far end of the lab where Katie was located before leading to Ross to Bruce's lab.

Matthew hesitated for a moment, unsure if he should see her. His sister had a way of reading him and he knew at the moment with Jack up his ass and the fact that he now had a new secret to keep just made him nervous. In the end, he realized that he hadn't seen her in a while and that maybe a little sibling bonding could put his mind at ease. He found her in her lab staring intently at the computer screen in front of her. She didn't acknowledge his presence and for a moment he thought she really was oblivious to his presence.

"Where have you been?" she asked not lifting her eyes from the screen.

"Tony Stark's personal assistant is a tough job." he says leaning against the wall watching her. "Long hours are sort of in the job description." he cleared his throat before walking over and peeking over her shoulder to see what she was working on. "So what is—"

"Did you know that when you lie, you immediately clear your throat afterwards?" she stopped what she was doing and brought her eyes to his. "Like the lie left a bad taste in your mouth, that you just had to get out."

"Rinny—"

"I'm not saying that because I want you to tell me what you're hiding, because I know I have no right to ask that of you. Especially not after what I did." she turned back to the computer and began typing away. "I just thought you would like to know that before you speak with me." he didn't say anything, well he didn't know what to say to that. He was actually afraid of the words that would come out of his mouth, unsure if they would reveal something he so desperately wanted to keep from her.

"So where's the agent, I thought after what happened last week, he'd be attached to your hip." Matthew eased in trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, well there are more important things happening that needed his attention."

"More important—"

"Don't say what you're about to say, because once you say it, I will hit you." Katie said nudging him with her elbow as she stood to her feet and walked around to Bruce's device. It was when she stood that Matthew finally noticed her newly rounded belly that showed.

"There's no hiding it now, huh?" he muttered and Katie gave him a questioning look before following his eyes. She ran a hand across her stomach. "You know I never thought I would see the day my little Rinny would be a mom." she sent him a playful glare.

"I thought for sure you'd be the first one with a kid." she said looking back down to the device. "With all of your whoring, I was actually waiting for the call of some one night stand showing up to your door with a kid with your big ears." Matthew placed his hands over his ears and Katie glanced over to him and laughed.

"You know how I am about my ears." he said dropping his hands. "So any luck on how to help our green friend?"

"Well I think the problem is what's it's always been. This thing doesn't have enough power to sustain the siphoning of the gamma radiation."

"So it didn't do what he wanted, but it did something." Matthew added walking over and looking down to the device as well.

"I think it just modified his genetic code slightly. I mean the transformations haven't happened for a while, but knowing Bruce he won't just give up on this."

"Betty's here." Matthew informed her and Katie scoffed at the woman's name before turning back to go over to her computer. "And from that little sound, I'd say you don't like her." she gave him a darkened look before looking back down to the computer. "Ahh, someone on Rinny's shit list, tell me more."

"Don't you have something you should be doing?" Katie asked the annoyance clear and blatant.

"At the moment, no." he said taking a seat at the table across from her. "Tell me, what has sweet Dr. Ross done to get your stink eye."

"She isn't as sweet as she makes herself out to be." Katie muttered but Matthew heard her and waited for her to continue.

"And what does that mean?"

"It means—" she glanced up to him and shook her head. "Go away, I'm working."

"Avoiding conflict only fuels the flame Rinny."

"Well I'm pretty good at putting a cap on my emotions." she said looking back down the computer.

"You use to be." Matthew countered and Katie didn't look up to him. "Pregnant, hormonal you called a restaurant and reamed them for forgetting your egg rolls." she brought her eyes to him and glared. "Yeah, I heard that story."

"Go away!" She yelled and he held up his hands and made a speedy retreat. She glanced up to the door, trying not to, but failing at agreeing with him. Her emotions were unpredictable and because of that she figured she should probably keep her distance from Dr. Elizabeth Ross for the time being.

Clint pulled up outside of the warehouse that was chosen to keep Kane. It was abandoned, of course, no one for miles. He pulled out his phone to make sure he didn't miss any calls. He was probably being paranoid, but he just didn't want a repeat of what happened last time. He didn't want to miss the big moments, he couldn't...not again. There was a knock on his window and he turned to see Mason smiling down to him.

"Well look who decided to grace us with his presence." Mason said as Clint stepped outside of the car. "I thought you chose which side of the fence you were going to be on?" Clint chose to ignore him and turned to walk inside of the warehouse. "If you chose this side, then you're the dumbest person I know!" Clint stopped and turned back to the man. "What?" Clint wordlessly stalked over to the man, placing himself directly in front of him.

"Mason, I know over the past couple of weeks we have be forced to work together. And up to this point, it's been fine. You talk, I tune you out. I've even gotten use to suppressing the urge to punch you in the face. But what I will not tolerate is you pretending that you know me. I have not chosen anything but my family so keep your accusations to yourself." and with that he turned and headed for the warehouse.

When he spotted Natasha, she was pacing back and forth a phone pressed to her ear. From the expression on her face, he could tell that it was not a very good conversation.

"I understand sir, I just—" her lip tightened shut at an obvious interruption and he noticed her fist clenched at her side. "No, I do not feel that is best. I am handling the situation. I—" she sighed at another interruption when she turned and met Clint's gaze. "He's here now, I will let him know." she ended the call and looked back over to Clint.

"What's up?"

"I'm being pull off of this and being put on another assignment." Natasha said and Clint's confusion didn't go unnoticed. "I've been made. CIA has my face—"

"So do a lot of other people!" Clint snapped walking over to her. "They have your face, but they do not have you. They will never have you because you won't let them and Coulson knows that, so what is the issue?"

"The issue is that this goes deeper than you know." Natasha replied with a shake of her head. "They have more then my face."

"What the hell does that mean?" Clint asked and Natasha sighed before turning away, but Clint caught her arm before she could. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Why do I always walk in on such interesting conversations between you two?" Mason's voice spoke and neither looked over to him. "You could cut the tension in here with a knife. Do I want to know?"

"I'm being reassigned," Natasha said jerking her arm from Clint's grasp before turning to Mason. "You're heading this one up, now."

"I'm sorry, what?" Mason asked his once light demeanor, now serious. "I thought it was in everyone's best interest if you took the lead on this one. This is your team."

"Yeah, well I screwed up." Natasha said turning her back to them. "I got seen and I didn't think how that could affect—" she stopped talking before she revealed way more then she could.

"This is him, isn't it?" Mason accused and Natasha turned a glare to him. "This is little brother, isn't it?"

"Stop talking!" Natasha growled through clenched teeth.

"Will someone tell me what the hell is going on here?" Clint said looking between the pair before turning his eyes to Natasha. "Nat, what does this have to do with Matthew?" Natasha kept her annoyed glare to Mason who she wished would suddenly disappear before slowly meeting Clint's eyes. "Nat?"

"What I say to you cannot leave this room." she said and Clint's brow knitted in confusion. "That means you do not repeat the words I'm about to tell you to anyone."

"I know what it means."

"Not even to her," Natasha said and she could see the slight hesitation wash over his features. "Especially not to her. Can you do that?" Clint turned away from her as he thought of what she was asking. They'd just gotten over one hump, and they were secret free and good. Now she was asking if he could ruin that. "It's your choice." he turned back to her and she waited for a reply.

"Tell me." Clint said hoping he wasn't making a mistake.

"Matthew Banks isn't the man he wants us to believe," Natasha said bringing her arms over her chest. "He's CIA." Clint's eyes widen in surprise.

"Matthew, CIA?" he asks making sure he didn't just hear her wrong. "You're kidding?"

"I wish, but he is and he's actually a pretty good agent." Natasha said before looking over to Mason, who seemed to turn away in disbelief. "He goes by the code name, Agent Black."

"Wait, not—" Mason turned back to her. "Not the Agent Black. The one whose name kept popping up at SHIELD. The kid who they wanted to recruit?"

"Yes, him, but he retired after a tough mission." Natasha said and Clint combed his fingers through his air. "I guess he lead a mission that cost the lives of some of his team. I'm not sure of the details, but he got out...until recently." both Clint and Rick lift their head to her. "Katie's name was popping up in foreign correspondents and they wanted to know why. They wanted to question her. He stopped them, but in order to do that he had to return to the agency. He's their eyes and ears."

"I'm sorry, are you telling me that my brother in law is CIA and he's spying on my wife?" Clint asked and Natasha simply nodded.

"It's more complicated then that. He's there for his sister. Her well being comes first. Plus eyes in the CIA is an asset. His cover can't be blown and that means he can not have any connection to this or me."

"You think pulling back is going to stop the shit storm that's headed his way?" Mason asks. "If the CIA is involved then he has eyes on him twenty four seven. Also meaning that the tower has eyes." Mason turned to Clint who looked back to him confused. "Were you tailed?"

"What, no—" Clint waved the man off before turning back to Natasha. "There's another way. One that doesn't end with you having to disappear. I just need to have a conversation with Coulson." Clint reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone before turning and heading back out the door.

"I can't believe that kid is Agent Black." Mason said the disbelief laced in every word. He looked back up to Natasha. "Why didn't you tell me? I thought we were partners."

"You also tend to have a loose tongue at the worse possible moment." Natasha bit back with a shake of her head.

"And you think he'll do any better? You just told him to lie to his wife. Do you think he can do that?"

"He's trained to lie, so yeah I think he can."

"He's trained to lie in the face of death, he's trained to lie during enemy questioning, hell he's trained to lie on his taxes, what he was not trained to do was lie to his wife." Mason stated and Natasha turned away. "He is not the same Barton you wish he was. He's not just going to pick all this shit back up just because you want him to. Things have changed and because of that you should've acted accordingly." Natasha turned back to him with a hard glare. "This is going to blow up in your face and it's going to blow up in his." he shook his head. "I'm going to go check on our visitor." he stalked past her without saying another word.

"Where is the other one?" Natasha asked and Mason stopped but didn't turn to her.

"Still sleeping." he replied before glancing over to her. "I think if your questioning doesn't work, then we should bring her in."

"Coulson wants us to make sure that we exhaust every possible option before we turn to that one." Natasha replied.

"Well that was before we found out that you're at the top of the CIA's most wanted list!" Mason snapped and the woman turned to him. "We need to move this along." and with that the man left.

Clint stood waiting on hold for what felt like forever before he felt a click on the other end signaling an answer.

" _Mr. Barton, I take it Romanoff has informed you of her situation."_ Coulson stated bypassing a greeting knowing that it definitely wasn't expected.

"She did and I have to say sir, I think pulling her off his case is a mistake."

" _I'll tell you what I told her—"_

"I'm not finished sir," Clint interrupted something that didn't happen with Phil Coulson. But the new director simply kept quiet and let the man continue. "I get you are putting precedence on Matthew's safety and his anonymity but there is a way to work this."

" _You have an idea?"_

"I do and I think it will work, but we're going to have to get Kane to talk first."

" _Why is that?"_

"Because we're going to give him back."

The plan was simple. Once they got Kane to talk, they would have Coulson create some story to feed the big bosses of the CIA about testing their security and how they failed.

" _That could work, but it does put Romanoff in a tough spot."_ Coulson said and Clint nodded wordlessly.

"Yeah, but she's always in a tough spot. I think she's used to it by now."

" _I think you're right. But if this is going to work, you three are going to have to get Kane to reveal who exactly hired him. I'm going to make some calls, but he doesn't move until he talks."_

"I understand."

" _Call me when you have something."_

"Yes sir."

" _You know Barton, this idea of yours is good. We could use more of them and—"_

"Sir, before you even start, please just don't." Clint said once again interrupting the director. "I already have a job and it's keeping my family safe. It's kind of a full time gig."

" _Well you can't blame me for trying."_ Coulson replied before ending the call.

Clint took a deep breath before turning back to the warehouse. This could work, he could feel it. But they had to work quick. He only took a single step before his phone vibrate in his hand. He looked down to the ID before quickly bringing it to his ear.

"What's wrong? I'm on my way." he said quickly already heading to his car.

 _"Bart, stop. Nothing is wrong."_ Katie said and Clint stopped moving before letting out an audible sigh of relief. " _I just wanted to hear your voice."_

"So I guess working with Dr. Ross is going well?"

_"I actually haven't even talked to her yet. I think it's best I avoid her for a while."_

"Will you tell me what it is about this woman that you don't like."

 _"She's—"_ Katie sighed. _"She's good on paper. Too good. And people can't see beyond that with her._ "

"Ok, that wasn't cryptic at all. Kat, just come out with it."

_"I don't want to talk about it. Talking about it, makes me angry. I want to talk about you. Any luck with Kane?"_

"Not yet, but I think we're close." Clint lied and he couldn’t help twinge in his stomach when he did it.

 _"So I saw Matthew today."_ Katie said and Clint let his finger comb through the back of his hair. " _He was acting weird, but he didn't seem like he was still mad."_

"Maybe he isn't." Clint said desperately wanting to get off the subject of her brother. Especially after the information he'd just learned. "Any luck with Bruce?"

_"I think Betty and Tony are working on that front, while I try to figure out what exactly happened with the device. Maybe I can figure out what it did to him."_

"Is it safe for you to be working with that thing?"

 _"Don't worry husband, it's all disconnected and laying in pieces in front of me."_ she says letting out a tired sigh. _"You know I was working on all of this and my mind just kept going to this morning, when we were in bed and it was good there. Very uncomplicated and undramatic and it was refreshing. And now I'm trying to figure out why my friend won't stop turning into the not so jolly green giant."_

"Kat, I promise that our lives will be back to normal." Clint said and Katie let out a snort.

 _"When have our lives ever been normal?_ " Katie asked with a chuckle. _"Alright, I'm sorry for bothering you with my hormonal impulses."_

"Never apologize for calling me, Kat. I'm your husband, which mean's I welcome every hormonal impulse you throw at me."

 _"I love you."_ she sighed and he couldn't ever get over how it made him feel whenever he heard her say it. It was as if all his troubles seems to dissipate whenever he heard those words slip off her lips.

"I love you too Mrs. Barton." he replied and they settled into a momentary silence just listening to each other breathe.

 _"Say that again."_ she whispered and suddenly that invisible force that they held between them began kicking in. Clint suddenly felt the need to drop everything and get to her.

"Mrs. Barton." he replied his voice seductively low and he could've sworn he heard a moan escape her lips. He closes his eyes and lets out a long sigh. "You're killing me, you know that right?"

 _"Good,"_ she replied and his lips quirked in a smile. _"The sooner you get home, the sooner we can get back to our faux normal."_

"Well then I guess I'll be seeing you soon." he replied before pulling the phone from his ear and ending the call. He stood there for a moment before looking up to the warehouse, reality flitting back in. He took a deep breath before finally deciding to walk in.

Katie sat her phone on the table before standing to her feet and looking down to the pieces that lined the table.

"How is that diagnostic coming JARVIS?" Katie asked picking up one of the pieces and examining it closer. The AI didn't respond and Katie lifted her head. "JARVIS?"

"Sorry Katie, Mr. Stark and Dr. Ross are exhausting the majority of my mainframe." JARVIS replied and Katie groaned in annoyance before walking over to the hologram computer before pulling up the data manually.

"Have they found any abnormalities in Bruce's blood work?" Katie asked as she used her hands to bring up the device's usage data.

"The gamma presence in Dr. Banner's blood does seem to have decreased, and it is slowly coming back to it's normal capacity." The AI reported and Katie stopped what she was doing.

"So the device worked slightly, but it didn't hold," Katie muttered before looking down the pieces. "Because of the lack of a compatible energy source." she turned back to the screen and expanded one of the devices trials. "I don't think it did any lasting damage, but only time will tell." she turned around and went back to sit at the desk behind the desktop computer.

It was inevitable that she would get lost in her work. She didn't know how long she'd been sitting there until the smell of pizza hit her nose. Katie lifted her head to see the bright smile of Darcy Lewis standing in her door with a pizza box.

"I thought you would be hungry." Darcy said sitting the box down before walking over and flicking off Katie's computer.

"What are you doing, I can work and eat." Katie argue before reaching forward to turn the computer back on, but Darcy slapped her hand before she could. "Darcy, are you insane?"

"No, but I do have a lot of experience ringing in overzealous scientists. You need a break to breathe and recharge your brain muscles and in your case feed the bun in the oven." Darcy grabbed Katie's arm and nearly pulled her to her feet. Katie shook her head before walking over and opening the pizza box, only to find it empty.

"Is this some sort of cruel joke?" Katie asked with a darkened glare aimed at Darcy. "Because I have to tell you that getting between a pregnant lady and food is very dangerous. Life threatening even."

"Chill scary lady, the food is back in the big lab where everyone is eating together. It's sort of like a gathering of the minds sort of thing, over some pepperoni. Come—" Darcy tried pulling Katie's arm, but the woman wouldn't budge. "You're not moving. Why aren't you moving?"

"I'm being very antisocial at the moment and I don't really want to mess with it, so how about you just bring the pizza here to my nice, secluded office." Katie suggested with a smile, but the young girl simply folded her arms over her chest. "C'mon Darcy, do me this favor."

"You know I love you like more than I probably should, but I'm not bending on this." Darcy informed her with a stern gaze. "You need to get out of this room for a while and congregate with your friends." The look on Katie's face showed that she wasn't giving in, so Darcy decided to pull out the big guns. "Fine, I didn't want to tell you, but Pepper and Steve came down to the lab and Steve's like a garbage disposal. He had an entire box by himself and he was starting on another one when I was coming in here." Darcy saw the restraint breaking in her features before Katie finally let out a sigh.

"You better be glad this baby wants pizza." Katie bit out before heading for the door, Darcy right behind her.

The moment they stepped into sight in the big lab, all conversations stopped and all eyes went to them. Katie stopped for a moment at the sudden attention before letting her eyes scan the lab until she found the stacks of pizzas. She already had the plan mapped out. She would grab her pizza and head back to her office without saying a word. Her feet was already moving, her target was locked and everything was going perfect until Tony stepped into her path.

"Kitten, I believe you know Dr. Ross." Tony said with a wide smile. The glare Katie sent him made him grimace slightly, but he grabbed her shoulders and turned her to the woman who stood to her feet and walked over.

"You have no idea how strange it is to see you again." Betty said with a slight smile. Katie's face remained stoic, and unmoving and the woman was visibly nervous. She glanced around to the people around them who all seemed nice enough, but she knew Katie would be the exception. "How long has it been?"

"Huh, you'd think you'd remember when you had someone arrested for holding your boyfriend hostage in the bathroom?" Tony said moving to stand on the side of the pair, glancing between the two.

"Tony!" Pepper's voice called and he looked over to her. "Maybe you should stay out of this."

"Hey, I've been waiting for this all day." Tony said waving her comment away before turning back to the women in front of him.

"Tony, Pepper's right," Bruce said from the monitor. "Just let it go." Tony glared over to the man before watching as Katie turned to grab one of the pizza boxes and head back to her office.

"I'm not sorry!" Betty called out to her and Katie's feet stopped moving. Everything in the lab froze in that moment. Even the air seemed to get colder. Katie spun on her heel, her once stoic features now showing all the anger she held. "I have nothing to be sorry for."

"Oh really?" Katie asked dropping the pizza box to the floor and stepping over it to get to the woman.

"Uh-oh she dropped the pizza. Definitely not good." Tony said rushing to get in front of Katie to stop her. "Calm down."

"Oh, I'm calm, I'm real calm." Katie said trying to get around the man. "I'll be even calmer once I show her ass my foot."

"I don't think her ass really wants to meet your foot." Tony added trying to hold her back. Katie turned a glare to him before letting out a deep breath. "Ok, games over. I need to know what the hell this is, right now." Tony said seriously before turning so he could see both women. "Someone talk!"

"Tony," Bruce said and all eyes went to him. "Just drop it."

"I will not drop it, because my kitten is upset, like really upset and I kind of need to know why." responded Tony whose eyes looked over to Betty. "Care to share."

"It's not a big deal." muttered Betty with a shake of her head. "It was years ago."

"That doesn't change anything!" Katie snapped taking a step forward, only for Tony to shoot out an arm to stop her. "What you did—it was so—" she growled before turning to walk away.

"It was a book!" Betty said and Katie once again stopped and turned to her. "That's all it was."

"Is that what you have to tell yourself Dr. Ross?" Katie asked walking over, Tony stopping her before she got too close. "That it was just a book. That it didn't hurt anyone."

"Ok, I'm lost." Darcy whispered from her spot next to Jane. They along with Pepper and Steve sat watching the current events unfold in front of them like a live action play. "What book?"

"I think she means the book Dr. Ross wrote about Bruce." Jane whispered back and Darcy nodded before turned back to the show.

"You know I'm just going to tell you what I told you six years ago when you showed up at my book signing and burned one of my books in front of my face." Betty says growing a little back bone and taking a step closer.

"Oh, I should—" Steve said jumping to his feet to hold the woman back.

"It's none of your business. It was none of your business then and it's definitely none of your business now." stated Betty. "I talked to Bruce before I even had that book published and he said he was fine with it and that's all that mattered, so you want to have an opinion, then keep it to yourself!"

"You're so dense, you know that?" Katie hissed in agitation. "Of course he told you he was ok with it, he loved you." she pushed Tony's arm out of the way before closing the distance between her and the woman. "You took advantage of that and you know it."

"You don't know what you're talking about." Betty said trying and failing to pull from the captain's grasp. She looked over to Bruce on the screen. "Bruce tell her." Bruce didn't say anything and Betty stopped struggling and turned to him. "Bruce?"

"You wrote about a part of him that he wants to share with no one." Katie said and Betty turned her gaze to her. "You gave the world an inside look at the thing he's most ashamed of and you profited from it. You know what, you're worse than your father because he tried extorting Bruce and failed but you succeeded." And with that Katie turned and walked over to pick up her pizza before heading back into her lab.

Betty stood there letting the woman's word replay in her head before she looked over to Bruce who didn't know quite what to say. She simply shook her head before heading back to her own work space. All their eyes went to Bruce who simply shook his head before cutting off the camera.

"Have I said how much I love living here?" Darcy said breaking the silence in the room.

Clint stood, his back resting against the wall as he watched Natasha's current interrogation of Kane, who was still keeping tight lipped.

"You are going to die in this room." Natasha growled as she held him with by his shirt. "I am going to be the last face you see before you burn in hell."

"Aw, you speak as if I'm not ready for death, love." breathed Kane.

"So the threat of death does nothing." Natasha said before releasing his shirt and letting him fall to the ground. She turned to Clint before turning her eyes to the door. Clint followed her line of sight to see Mason. She gave him a nod and he nodded back before turning and disappearing. "I think you should know that we tried to avoid this, but you gave us no other choice."

"What are you talking about?"

"You broke the number one bad guy rule." Natasha said walking over and grabbing a towel and cleaning the blood from her hands. "You're suppose to rid yourself of all your weakness." she looked over her shoulder to the man. "You're suppose to run fearless, and you did not do that." soon the sound of a woman's screaming cut through the air and they all turned to see Mason pulling out a blonde haired teenager whose arms and mouth were bound.

"No," Kane growled before pulling himself up. "No!" he turned a dangerous glare to Natasha. "You let her go, you let my daughter go!"

"You want her safe?" Natasha asked walking over and kneeling in front of the man. "You want her to grow up and be all that she can be? You better start talking, because my friend over there has no problem with snapping her neck right here, right now." Kane's eyes tore away from Natasha's to the fearful gaze of his daughter and she could see it having it's intended effect. "It's your choice. Her life is in your hands. So-" he turned back to the assassin. "What are you going to do about it?"

Katie sat in her lab looking down to the pizza, realizing that she had lost her appetite. She really didn't intend to blow up the way she did, but once she started there was no stopping her.

"Did you really burn her book at her signing?" a voice asked and Katie lifted her head to see Bruce's face on the hologram screen in front of her.

"What can I say, I'm not really good with my words." Katie said with a slight smile. "I'm sorry about what just happened back there."

"No you're not."

"No, I'm not," Katie replied folding her arms over the table. "But I am sorry about the whole production." she shook her head. "I've had words for that woman for a long time and I'm glad I finally got them out." she brought her eyes to meet his. "I didn't know you talked to her before she had it published."

"Yeah well you were right. I hated the idea of my life, my curse being sold for profit, but I figure I had taken so much from her, I owed her."

"You didn't owe her your life." Katie sighed. "You don't owe anyone that." Bruce's eyes narrowed and it was a look she'd seen before on the man. It's how he looked when he'd come across a problem he could quite solve. "What?"

"I had you arrested, why would you still stand up for me?" Bruce asked and Katie smiled before reaching forward and grabbing a slice of pizza.

"Because you weren't going to do it and I'm not one to stray away from revealing the bullshit." Katie said before taking a bite from the pizza. "You're too nice Bruce, and I'm not."

"You're wrong, you may be the nicest person I know." Bruce replied before pulling off his glasses and rubbing his eyes.

"You want some good news?" Katie asked and Bruce looked up to her. "I think you're fine. I think the effects from the device were only temporary which is why you haven't had any incidents in a while. I think your body is just automatically returning to it's original state"

"I figured as much." Bruce said with a sigh before sliding his hands over his face. "This is ending the way it started. Me and the other guy."

"We all have our demons, Bruce."

"Yeah, but your demon doesn't manifest itself in the form of a giant green monster who only wants to destroy everything." Bruce countered and Katie visibly pulled back. "I'm sorry, I didn't—"

"It's fine, you're right. My demons don't manifest themselves the way yours do." Katie said before placing the slice of pizza down. "Mine comes in the form a voice." she met Bruce's questioning gaze. "My father's voice to be exact." She clasped her hands under her chin. "My father died when I was fifteen and I can't stop hearing his voice." she shook her head as feeling she'd been trying to keep at bay threatened to spill out of her. "No crying, you fight," she said muttering her father's words as she looked back up to Bruce. "Never be weak." she twirled a finger by her head. "All day, every day I'm cursed with the impossible standards of a man I'm almost ninety five percent sure was insane." she felt a tear slide down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away.

"Katie—"

"Bruce we all have our demons, even me. But I've learned to not let my demon control my life and you have to do the same. Do your yoga and do your meditation, whatever it takes and get the control back. You are not your demon Bruce, remember that." Bruce looked at her for a moment before giving her nod and leaning back in his seat. "So how long do you plan on staying in that room?"

"Just until I can make sure I can handle this. Betty's waiting on some blood tests to make sure the gamma levels in my cultures haven't modified my genetic structure." Katie nodded before reaching forward and grabbing her slice of pizza. "Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?" Katie asked meeting the man's gaze.

"The list is quite long, I don't think I could name them all."

"I wouldn't want you to and I don't want your thanks." Katie replied before taking a bite from her pizza. "You're family Dr. Green." the last part was muffle through her chewing, but he understood it.

"You should get out of here and get some rest. You know know that you're pregnant you should get in the habit of trying to take naps. Rest is one of the keys to a smooth pregnancy."

"Well right now this pizza is an important key too." Katie countered and Bruce just gave her a look. "Fine, I eat my pizza and then I go take my nap. You should probably talk to Betty and be honest with her."

"I will, I'm just trying to work my way up to it." Bruce said before giving her a wave and cutting off the camera. Katie was halfway through her pizza when a yawn crept out of her mouth and as if on cue Darcy Lewis appeared.

"Alright, that's it. I'm tearing you away from this place." said Darcy as she grabbed Katie's arm and began pulling her from the chair. "Baby needs sleep. I'm taking you to your apartment."

"I need to—"

"Everything here, will still be here tomorrow." Darcy said pushing Katie into the big lab. They spotted Tony, Pepper, Jane and Steve as they headed for the elevator. "I'm taking mama bird to her nest!"

"I don't like that nick name." Katie said over her shoulder to the young woman. She looked back over to the others. "Guys, I'm sorry about my little outburst earlier."

"There was nothing little about that outburst Kitten." Tony said and Katie shook her head. "Thank that baby in your belly, because if it wasn't there, there would've been a live action cat fight right here." Pepper slapped Tony's arm and he pulled away from her before turning to Katie.

"I gave JARVIS my findings from the device, look at them and double check my numbers!" Katie called as Jane pushed her onto the elevator.

"I should probably go up with them." Steve said, still hesitant about the towers security. Jane turned to Tony and Pepper, who were now making goo goo eyes at one another and figured she'd better be leaving as well.

"I guess it is getting late." the doctor said before rushing off to catch the elevator as well. They all rode the elevator in a some what silence as they listened to the soft music playing in the background.

"Is that AC/DC?" Darcy asked trying to listen to the lyrics of the song.

"Yep." Katie said slightly bobbing her head to the song. "Back to Black. Classic." she looked over her shoulder to Steve. "Is that on your list, Captain, because if it's not, it should be." Steve reached into his pocket and pulled out his tiny notebook and flipped through the pages.

"Oh, here it is. AC/DC, back to black." Steve said with a nod before looking over to Katie. He turned and listened to the song and realized he still wasn't completely attracted to the modern music.

"What do you think?"

"Well, it's ok." he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Never let Tony hear you say that." replied Katie before grabbing his notebook and looking through the pages. "Ah, Footloose, I love that movie." she looked over to Steve. "Have you seen it yet?"

"No, but—"

"Then it's settled, we're watching this right now." Katie said with a satisfied smile before handing him back his notebook.

"You're taking a nap, remember?" Darcy reminded and Katie turned a glare to her.

"I am tired, yes, but I am not in need of a nap. I just need to sit and unwind." Katie replied, not missing the look of annoyance on the woman's face. "You're invited to join us if that would make you feel better."

"It will actually." Darcy replied a smile tugging at her lips. She looked over to Jane. "What about you, you up for a movie night?"

"The rest of my day is pretty empty and since Thor isn't here, I guess a movie night would be great." Jane said before looking over to Katie. "Will there be wine?" Katie looked at the woman before glancing down to her stomach. "Well not for you, obviously, I mean for the rest of us?"

"Sorry, our apartment is kind of booze free. If mama can't drink, papa can't drink."

"And Broody McCute Butt, agreed to this?" Darcy asked and all eyes went to her. "I'm sorry, I forgot we only call him that when you're not around."

"Maybe you should stop." Katie said as the elevator door slid open.

"Well he does have a cute butt." Darcy countered as they followed.

"Darcy!" Jane scolded with a shake of her head. "I'm definitely going to need some wine. I'll grab some from our room and I'll meet you guys in a few." the woman rushed off, while the others followed behind Katie.

Katie entered the code for her apartment and walked inside, Darcy and Steve following behind her. She heard sliding feet and turned just as Darcy tripped and Steve reached forward to catch her.

"You did that on purpose," Steve accused and Darcy just gave him an innocent smile. "I can't believe I fell for that again."

"Hey, I don't get Captain freakin American's arms wrapped around me everyday, so I take it how I can get it." Darcy countered as Steve released her from his grasp.

"You guys, make yourself at home, I'm going to go use the restroom." Katie said heading down the hall toward their bedroom. She was about to head into the bathroom, when she spotted a note taped to her closet door. She walked over and plucked it from the door.

" _Katie, Tony told me about your pants issue and so I thought I would help. Thanks for giving me a reason for some retail therapy. Love Pepper._

Katie pulled open her closet and found it filled with new shirts, pants, dresses, and there were even new shoes. She smiled as she sifted through the duds to get a good look at them. She reached into her pocket to grab her phone so she can call Pepper to thank her, but it rang instead. Without looking to the ID, she answered it assuming she knew who it was.

"When are you coming home, husband?" she asked as she walked further into the closet to look at the clothes. She'd only stopped when she realized that Clint hadn't said anything. "Bart?" still silence, and now the anxiety was kicking in. She quickly hurried out of the closet, hoping it wasn't a signal issue. "Bart, are you there?"

 _"It's not Bart, sweetheart."_ spoke an eerily familiar voice. Katie's whole body tensed up at the sound.

"Who—who is this?" Katie asked unsure if she really wanted an answer to that question.

_"It's me dear, it's—it's your mother."_

The moment the words were spoken, Katie knew they were true. She doesn't know how or why, but it's a feeling in her gut. Her knees weakened and the hand holding the phone started to shake.

 _"Sweetheart, I know—_ " Katie ended to call, wanting nothing more than for the voice to just go away in that moment. She couldn't handle hearing that voice any longer.

"Hey, do you mind if I eat the rest of your—" Darcy stopped talking the moment she laid eyes on Katie who looked like she'd seen a ghost. Her eyes were wide and her body was shaking. "Katie, what's wrong?" Katie lifted her head to the woman.

"Da—Darcy, I need—" for some reason words were failing her. "I need you—call Bart." Darcy's features were laced with fear as she looked at Katie who looked as if she was going to collapse at any moment. "I need him now." Darcy moved over to her, placing her hands on her shoulders. "Right now Darcy." and as Darcy feared the woman's legs seemed to give out and Katie was collapsing to the floor, Darcy with her trying to hold her up.

"Steve, in here, now!" yelled Darcy from her place on the floor with Katie holding onto her for dear life.


	28. Chapter 28

Bad decisions in life were inevitable. There was no way around them, no way to avoid them. They happened and once they happened you just had to move forward. Moving forward was taking a little while longer than Cynthia Chambers anticipated as she listened to her husband.

"Do you know what you've done by calling her?!" snapped Martin as he paced, glancing over to her as she sat on their couch. "Not just to us, but to her? Do you know what this could do her?"

"Martin-"

"Up unto this point she was safe because do know what she had?" Martin asked. Cynthia opened her mouth to speak, but apparently the question was rhetorical and he continued. "Plausible deniability! And you took that away from her!"

"Martin, would you just listen to me-"

"Cindy, I can't even fathom any excuse for this" snapped Martin stopping and turning to her. "She now knows that you are alive."

"Yes!" Cynthia snapped standing to her feet. "And you know what, I'm glad. I was tired of carrying that, tired of having something so precious and not even be able to see it, see her-"

"You don't understand-"

"I do understand Martin. I really do, but it was time. You know and I know it too. Someone knows about me and sooner or later they would find out about you and if she heard it from anyone other than us, then she would hate us."

"You think that call is going to stop her from hating us!?" Martin asked and Cynthia shook her head and walked away. "She will hate us. Doesn't matter if she found out now or years from now. But her hating us was inevitable." Cynthia stopped and turned back to him. "I don't care what story you have to tell yourself to make you feel better about this, but making that call was a bad decision."

"No Martin, not making that call, waiting this long to make that call was the bad decision." and with that she turned and walked away.

Martin was about to go after her when he heard the sound of his cell phone buzzing. He whirled around before spotting it on coffee table and quickly picking it up and glancing down the ID. He sighed before bringing it to his ear.

"Director," Martin greeted.

"Mr. Chambers, I just got your message. What seems to be the problem?"

"I think we're going to have to come up with a new plan."

Asgard's war room was painfully quiet. Sitting at a long table, were Sif, and the Warriors Three staring up to Thor who sat at the head, every line in his face revealing his anger.

"And no one knows anything?" his deep voice growls. It's clear he’s trying to contain his anger, but barely. "How does someone sneak into a prison, bypassing hundreds of guards and kills a prisoner that needed to stay alive?" They all shared looks, not sure anything they said would help soothe the situation. "Someone answer me!" Thor slammed a fist to the table and it nearly shook the room.

"We've already told you, there is no sign of forced entry, no tracks of an assailant anywhere?" Sif answered. "There's not even a sign of a struggle."

"So your idea is that she snapped her own neck?" Thor asked the disbelief clear in every word he spoke.

"Is that really too hard to believe?" asked Fandral gaining a glare from the prince. "The woman wasn't the sanest citizen in our land. Who is to say that she didn't just take her own life?" They watched as Thor turned away. "I know you wanted to believe her, believe that her premonitions were right, but the woman was mad. Mad people say things and do things that make no sense."

"I have seen my share of mad people and I've never met one who has named a person from another realm" Thor replied.

"But she didn't name her, did she?" Sif asked and he met her gaze. "Her words were a trick, one that you found meaning when there was none. You do not know that she spoke of Katherine and you do not know that her possible death could bring harm to Asgard."

"I do not know that it won't either." Thor stated lifting his head and looking each and everyone of them in the eyes. "That woman—that mad woman, she had answers and now she's dead. I want to know why and how." Thor stood to his feet and so did his comrades. " I fear that—" Thor was interrupted by the room's large doors being pushed opened and everyone's eyes widen at the sight of who had walked in. "Father?"

"My son," Odin replied with a nod. "Lady Sif, Warriors Three." they all nod a greeting to the All Father all watching as he moves to stand at the other head of the table across from his son. "I gather that you're talking about the death of the seer in our prison?"

"Yes father, I assure you I will find out—"

"Don't bother," Odin interrupted and Thor's brow knitted in confusion. "The woman was a vagrant, and mad and we will not waste any more time on her."

"But father—"

"I have spoken." Odin replied leaving absolutely no room for opposition. Thor simply closed his mouth and gave his father a nod of understanding. Odin returned the nod before turning and heading back out the doors, stopping just as he was about to leave. "I know how your mind works son. Always driven by the need to seek out justice. But disobeying me would be a very bad decision." and with that the man turned and left, leaving nothing but his words behind.

Clint, Natasha and Rick stood staring at the back of the vehicle transport that was now speeding a way, surrounded by black SUVs. If Kane found a way to escape with that much security, then he deserved to get away.

"There's nothing like a good ole fashion torture session and threatening to murder someone's daughter to warm your insides" Mason mused looking over Clint and Natasha who only looked over to the man before shaking their heads and turning back to the warehouse. The moment they turned, they saw the blonde haired girl stalking in their direction...well Mason's direction to be more exact.

"Will you take these damn things off of me now!" she snapped shoving her bound wrists in the man's face. "I told you they were too tight!"

"Well it had to look real, sweetheart." Mason said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his pocket knife before cutting the zip tie around her wrists. Once her hands were free, she reached up and pulled off the holographic mask she'd been wearing, before shoving it into Mason's chest. Her face revealed her true age and more so the anger it held. "Call me sweetheart one more time and I'll stick my foot so far up your ass!" she snapped before pushing past him and heading to her car.

"You know, you're welcome!" he called after her only to receive as not so friendly finger in return.

"Who is that?" Clint asked looking over to the man.

"Former Agent Melody Paige." Mason said with a smile as he gives a wave to the retreating car. "She owed me one." Mason turned to Clint and Natasha. "So we have a name."

"Yeah, too bad it's the name of a dead woman." Clint muttered before feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket. He quickly retrieved his phone from his pocket and looked down to the familiar number on the ID before bringing it to his ear. "Darcy, what's wrong?" there were no farewells or handshakes as Clint headed straight for his car.

" _I_ —" she was stammering which did not help Clint's growing concern. " _I don't know, She-"_ God, he just needed her to talk and tell him what the hell was happening with his wife.

"Darcy!" he snapped impatiently as he slipped into the car. "Where's Kat?"

" _Medical_." Darcy replied and that was the last word Clint heard before his foot hit the gas with no intention of lifting it until he saw her face. He knew leaving her in the first place was a bad decision.

Tony Stark was making a scene and he really didn't care. At the moment, Steve held his hands up attempting to keep the billionaire back and away from the room Katie was wheeled in earlier. It was still pretty hectic when she was brought up, everyone just worried about what was going on. When Tony and Pepper arrived Dr. Allen had told everyone to stay in the waiting area while he worked to try and figure out what was happening with their friend.

"Tony, would you—"

"Will you let me go!" Tony snapped. They'd been forced to wait for nearly an hour and to say Tony was getting antsy was an understatement. The last time he was forced to wait was after the fire at the beach house when she was rushed behind hospital doors only for a doctor to waltz out and say she was gone. "I'm going to make sure she's alright."

"Tony, you need to calm down!" Pepper said coming up behind him and bringing her hands to his shoulders. He stepped back from Steve and turned to Pepper's whose own eyes were filled with worry. "Right now we don't know what's happening, so we just have to stay calm, ok?" He silently nodded trying to ignore the pounding of his heart in his chest. He looked over her shoulder and Pepper turned to follow his gaze to see Darcy walking over to them, he eyes still slightly red and puffy from crying.

"He answered, first ring." she said with a slight smile. She didn't want to admit how relieved she was that he did answer. She had a feeling that if he left her friend hanging once again, she was going to overload his inbox with words that would make even the strongest man cringe. "He's on his way."

"Darcy, what exactly happened?" Pepper asked and Darcy ran her hands through her hair as she force herself to remember the traumatic scene.

"I don't know." she said with a shake of her head. "She said she was going to use the bathroom and when I went to ask her something, I found her standing there like she'd seen a ghost or something." she looked to their eyes. "She was gripping her phone for dear life and the moment I touched her she just fell to the ground."

"Do you know who called her?" Steve asked and Darcy looked over to to him and just shook her head. Tony quickly drew his phone from his pocket, hitting a single button before bringing it to his ear.

"JARVIS, run a trace on Katie's phone. I want to know the last incoming call." Tony ordered before ending the call and turning back to Darcy. "Do you remember anything else? Did she say anything?"

"Just to call Clint, and to get him here." replied Darcy said lifting her eyes just as Dr. Franklin Allen was walking back out to them. They all turned as well, surrounding the man instantly.

"Is she alright?" Tony asked, knowing that was the first question everyone wanted answered.

"She's fine, it was just a panic attack." the doctor stated seeing the instant relief that washed over all of their faces. "Her blood pressure is a little higher than I would like, but I've given her a mild sedative to calm her down."

"What about the baby?" Pepper asked.

"Baby's perfectly fine. It's mom I'm more worried about." Dr. Allen replied.

"What do you mean?" Steve asked.

"Well stress during pregnancy is never a good thing. Her blood pressure definitely should not be as high as it was. Do we know what triggered it?" they all just shook their heads and Franklin sighed. "It might be a good idea to find out. High blood pressure can get real serious, real quick, having dangerous side effects for her and her baby."

"Can we see her?" Tony asked and the look on the doctor's face was not one the man wanted to see.

"I'm sorry Mr. Stark," the doctor said seeing the glare already starting to form on the man's face. "As Katie's doctor, I'm going to have to put her well being first and right now we need to work on getting her blood pressure down, so no at the moment I'm not allowing any visitors."

"Not allowing—" Tony said angrily taking a step forward, only for Steve to reach over and pull him back. "You know what, you're fired!"

"Tony!" Pepper snapped before turning back to Franklin. "Don't listen to him. You're not fired. Just make sure she's ok." the doctor simply nodded before turning and disappearing behind the swiveling doors. "Tony are you crazy?" Tony didn't say anything as he turned away from Pepper and headed for the elevator. "Tony!" she quickly ran to follow him. "Where are you going?"

"I can't sit out here and do nothing. I need to find out what the hell happened to her and I need to find out now." the doors slid open and Tony stepped on. Pepper stood there for a moment, unsure if she should go with him and when the doors began closing and he didn't even invite her, she had her answer. She dropped her head, closing her eyes as that feeling she thought was gone, that she hoped was gone beginning to creep right back into her. She wondered if telling herself that she was just being crazy was just one of many bad decisions.

The elevator dinged and Pepper lifted her head, hope filling her only to leave just quick as it came when the door opened revealing only Jane.

"Is everything alright? I went to my apartment to get some wine and when I came back everyone was gone." Jane stopped taking a moment to examine the woman's face. "Oh, God what happened?"

"Katie just had a little panic attack." Pepper said a little more cynical than she anticipated. "She's fine, baby's fine. Now she's just resting."

"What happened?"

"No one knows yet." Pepper replied. Jane just nodded before walking over to check on Darcy who instantly hugged her the moment she walked over. Pepper sighed before turning just as her phone rang. She looked down to see it was the office ."Shit!" she cursed before turning and pressing the button for the elevator.

"Is everything alright?" Steve asked and she looked over her shoulder to him.

"I had a meeting with the wedding planner, and I can't miss it. I've already rescheduled a million times already and I'm afraid one more time and she'll drop us." Pepper said and Steve nodded slowly and she could see the slight way his eyes widened at her excuse as if he couldn't see why she wasn't dropping everything to worry about Katie. She turned wishing the elevator would just open. "I shouldn't be long, call me if there is any news." as soon as the doors open, she rushed inside giving a quick wave as they closed.

It was a simple act of fate that Clint and Matthew arrived in front of the tower at the exact same time. Matthew was the first to notice him, whereas Clint didn't seem to be paying attention to anything around him as he rushed inside. Due to pure curiosity, Matthew followed him trying to keep in stride. Once they stepped onto the elevator Matthew decided it was finally time to ask the million dollar question.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked and Clint turned and seemed to just notice the man's presence. The shock seemed to ware off as he turned back to the doors, looking up to the numbers as they increased. "Is it Kat?" Clint didn't say anything, and when the doors opened and he saw where they were, pieces began falling into place. He followed after Clint, moving just as quickly.

"Where is she?" Clint asked, desperation laced into every word. The others walked over to him, the looks on their faces were just too sad.. too somber. "What—" he brought a hand to his head as he let all the feelings he'd been fighting threatening to spill out. There was so much fear inside of him in that moment, that he couldn't even form any other coherent words. There were only three. "Where is she?"

"She's resting," Steve said placing a firm hand on the man's shoulder alleviate some of the anxiety. "Barton, she's fine." those three words seemed to allow him to breathe again. Clint turned his body to the Captain waiting for him to continue. "The doctor said that she had a panic attack and that her blood pressure was a little high, but it's coming down. He had to sedate her." Clint's brow arched in confusion.

"Sedate her?" Matthew asked trying to make sense of what was happening her. He turned to Clint who looked just as confused as he did.

"Why?" Clint asked. "What triggered it?"

"A phone call." Darcy spoke and the archer turned to her. "She had her phone in her hand when I found her." Clint stood there for a moment letting the information sink in before the sudden urge to see her once again hit him. He turned toward the doubles and started walking, only stopping when Franklin stepped out.

"Can I help you?" Franklin asked and Clint glared at the current obstacle blocking him from his wife.

"No," he muttered trying to walk around the man, but he was surprised and angered that the man only moved to block him. Clint lifted his eyes to the man with a look of pure anger. "Move!"

"I'm sorry," Franklin said standing his ground. "I can't do that. Now who are you?" Clint took a step toward the man, and Steve once again stepped forward to save the good doctor from getting his ass kicked.

"This is Clint Barton, Katie's husband." Steve said trying to pull Clint back. "He wants to see Katie." the doctor opened his mouth. "And before you say what I'm afraid you're going to say, I think you should know telling him that he can't see her right now will not go over well for anyone." Franklin looked hesitant as he turned back to the darkened gaze of the archer before stepping aside. Clint pulled from the Captain's grasp before quickly moving through the double doors.

There were a few nurses congregated outside of one room he figured was where she was. When he walked over, the nurse gave him a lock of shock, before moving out of the way to let him inside. He stepped in and sucked in a sharp breath as he looked down to her. She was laying on her side, her legs curled behind her and a hand lazily resting on her stomach above the fetal heart monitor He stripped off his jacket letting it fall where ever before he moved to crouch by her side letting one hand rest upon the one on her stomach as the other combs through her hair. Her eyes flit open slightly and it seems to take her a moment to meet his eyes.

"Hey, Kat," he whispered and the fact that the light that's usually behind her eyes seems to be slightly dimmer doesn't get passed him. "I'm right here, ok. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere." she stared at him for a little while longer before her eyes once again slid closed. Clint reached forward pressing a kiss to the side of her head and then to her belly before looking back to the chair that sat beside her bed. He sat down never moving his hand from above hers. For the moment he would just sit there and look at her. Because looking at her was the only thing keeping an array of emotions from spilling out of him at the moment.

Tony stood staring up to the screen as his hand rubbed over his goatee. JARVIS was currently using every tool, every agency, every resource to track the call that Katie got. The only issue was that his AI wasn't running as quickly or smoothly as he wished. Ever since the JARVIS' reintegration, Tony was still trying to work out some of the kinks. He was so deep in concentration that he barely noticed the clicking heels of Betty as she walked into his lab. It was only by chance that he turned and saw her with a handkerchief in her hand drying her eyes. She looked up to him and stopped, not expecting to see him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't expect—" she shook her head. "Everyone disappeared and I thought everyone had turned in."

"Nope." he said before turning back to the screen. She walked over to stand beside him to see the program running.

"What's this?"

"I'm running a trace on Katie's cell phone." Tony muttered finding himself not really in a very conversational mood. "Pepper has set you up in a room, JARVIS can direct you." Betty noticed how his eyes stayed focused on the screen as he spoke and she couldn't help but noticed the look of distress on his face.

"Is something wrong?" she asked and Tony let out a sigh before turning and walking away, picking up a tablet and swiping something. She could take a hint and so she turned and headed for the elevator. She was about to stepped onto the elevator when she stopped and turned back to him. "I could help you know?" he glanced over to her. "I'm sure the General could—"

"I'm definitely not looking to owe General Ross any favors." Tony said turning back to the tablet.

"My father found Bruce in Rio from a soda bottle." Betty stated proudly. "He may be a crazy, egotistical bastard, but he's good at finding people." he looked back over to her and she could see him mulling it over. "You've been taking care of Bruce, given him a home when he needed one. Let me help you."

"Fine," Tony said ultimately. He sat the tablet down and walked over to her. "Make the call."

"I'm going to need more information than—"

"You're not going to get it." Tony interrupted as the woman dug around in her purse for her phone. She stopped and looked up meeting his gaze. "I don't trust Ross and given my new found information on you, I'm not trusting you all that much. I'm sending an IP address and I want Ross to run it for a location. Once he finds that location he does nothing but send it to me, do you understand?" Betty looked at him for a while before giving him a nod and bringing her phone to his ear. Tony stared at her as she spoke, praying to god he wasn't about to make a bad decision.

Martin Chambers sat at his desk, staring at the blank screen of his laptop. He was putting off making a call he knew just had to be made. A deep breath escaped his nostrils before his fingers began typing away. Once a secure network was set up, he folded his hands under his chin and waited. It didn't take long for a face to appear whose face was filled with confusion.

"Now do you want to tell me what was so urgent that we had to see each other face to face?" Coulson asked. Martin opened his mouth to speak when Coulson's phone rang. He looked over to the ID before holding up a finger for the man to hold on. "This is Coulson." he greeted. Martin watched as a deep frown carved it's way onto the man's face. Slowly, Coulson's gaze turned back to Martin who simply watched in confusion. "Keep me updated." and with that the director ended the call, carefully placing the phone back on his desk.

"Something wrong, Director?" Martin asked and Coulson looked back up to him.

"I'm not sure," Coulson said running a hand over his forehead. "Your daughter was just rushed to the medical unit in Tony's tower." Martin's eyes widened in pure horror, and the second Coulson saw the look he threw up his hands. "She's fine, it was just a panic attack." Martin let out a sigh before dropping his face into the palm of his hand. "Mr. Chambers?" Martin didn't say anything and Coulson wasn't sure how to console the man. "Really, she's fine."

"I don't think so." Martin said lifting his head and sitting back in his seat. The questioning look on Coulson's face told him that he should continue. "Something has happened."

"Are you going to tell me or are we going to keep speaking in riddles?" Coulson asked and Martin let out another sigh.

"Cynthia called Katie." Martin said finally, gaining a blank, unmoving stare from Coulson. After a few moments, Coulson shook his head before leaning in slightly closer.

"I'm sorry, I think my hearing's going bad because I could've sworn I heard you say that your wife made the one call this whole mission was set up to prevent." Coulson said and Martin just shook his head. "I could've sworn you just said that your wife made a call that just ruined a twenty five year mission."

"Listen here, what's done is done. Now we need to come up with a new plan and work around this!" Martin snapped and Coulson's eyes filled with anger.

"Work around what?!" Coulson snapped standing to his feet. "She now knows without a doubt that your wife is alive and soon will know the same of you and she will not stop until she finds you. What do you think happens then? Once she knows and the others know and the one thing you've worked hard to accomplish, the one thing you've wanted since she was born just gets thrown out the window."

"Then what's your plan director, because I have to tell you I don't know what to do." Martin let out an exasperated sigh before turning to the screen. "You know what she told me? She said that not telling her the truth for all these years was the biggest mistake we've ever made and now... now that our daughter is close to the truth, I can't say I'm all that sorry. Do you know how it feels to have to carry such a burden, such a secret from the one person you'd give your life just to tell her."

"Martin, once you open up this can of worms, there's no closing it. There's no undoing it. It's open and you're going to have to deal with whatever comes your way. Are you prepared for that?"

Martin sat there and thought hard on the man's words. They were the truth and there was no way around this not ending up shitty.

"You know what my old man used to tell me?" Martin asked looking to Coulson who seemed momentarily lost by the abrupt subject change. "Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional." Martin straightened in his seat. "I'm not ready to give up hope director. We will find a way to work through this." Coulson simply nodded not sure of the man's optimism. "Any leads on whose looking for Cindy?"

"My people just gave me a name." Coulson said combing his fingers through his thinning hair."Ophelia Sarkissian." Martin's eyes widen as he sits back in his seat.

"You're kidding me?"

Clint felt her fingertips sliding across the top of his knuckles and that's when he realized he had fallen asleep. He opened his eyes to see her eyes open and looking to him.

"Hey," he said before leaning forward and bringing his lips to hers. His hand slid behind her head as his lips trailed from her lips to her temple. "How do you feel?"

"Tired." she whispered, her voice slightly hoarse.

"I think they gave you something to lower your blood pressure, and calm you down." Clint said taking her hand and sliding along the edge of the bed to sit. "The doctor said you had a panic attack Kat." she sighed turning away. "Is it the baby? Or me?" she turned back to him. "If this is scaring you then-"

"Clint, no, stop, that's not it." Katie said bringing a hand to rest on her forehead. "It doesn't seem real." she met his questioning gaze. "She called me."

"Who?"

"My mother." Katie said simply before closing her eyes. The monitors in the room began beeping fast and Clint's head shot up to one of them.

"Kat, what—" before he could even finish his question, the door was pushed open and in came doctor Allen.

"What's going on in here?" the doctor asked shooting Clint a slight glare before softening as he turns down to Katie. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." she replied her eyes watering contradicting her reply.

"Doesn't look like nothing, Katie." Franklin replied reaching down and taking's Katie's hand, a move that didn't go missed by her husband. Clint's eyes darkened as he looks down to the man's hand before looking back up to the man's face. "Tell me what's going on." Katie didn't say anything and the doctor let out a sigh before looking up to Clint. "I think maybe you should go." Clint moved slightly, but Katie grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze.

"I'm not going anywhere." Clint stated.

"Right now my patient needs rest and—"

"He's staying." Katie interrupted and Franklin looked down to her. "I understand that my well-being is in your best interest, but it's in his too. I'm fine, really." he looked down to her like he didn't believe her but he gave her hand a squeeze before turning and walking out of the room.

"I don't like him." Clint says once the man is gone and Katie looks up to him.

"Right now isn't about him." Katie said and Clint's nodded. "Bart, she's—" Katie closed her eyes and shook her head. "She's alive and she somehow has my phone number."

"Did she say anything?"

"I kind of tuned her out after she said hey this is your mother." Katie replied.

"Look, we are going to figure this out."

"I know and I think I know where we should start." Katie said and Clint eyed her with confusion. "I think it's time we had another conversation with our dear director."

"You think Coulson knows something about your mother?"

"I think Coulson knows something that he's not sharing." replied Katie.

"Alright, we'll get on that later. Now we need to make sure you're alright."

"Clint, I'm fine—"

"I would believe that more if you hadn't freaked everyone out." Clint said before placing a kiss on top of Katie's head. "I should go tell them you're really ok so they don't wait out there." Katie nodded before Clint released her hand and headed for the door.

"You know I wouldn't hate you if you brought me food back." Katie said and Clint looked over to her with a smile. "What can I say, crisis makes me hungry."

"Everything makes you hungry." Clint muttered on his way out.

"I heard that!" Katie called watching him leave. Once she was alone, Katie was left with sounds of the beeping monitors around her. She placed a hand over her belly and sighed. Her mind races with thoughts of her mother being alive and all those dreams she thought were just creations of he imagination. She had so many questions, one topping them all. "Why did you leave me?" she whispered to the air. She looked down to her belly, mindlessly rubbing circles and just shook her head. Nothing, and she meant nothing could ever bring her to leave this child.

Tony ended up doing the one thing he didn't want to do. He was waiting. Only this time he was forced to wait with Betty, who he was realizing he wasn't overly fond of with each passing second.

"I mean of course I didn't think the book was a big deal," she rambled as she sat picking at her fingernails. "But apparently it was and now I'm the bad guy." she shook her head before looking over to Tony. "I asked him. I made it a point to make no moves until I asked him and you know what he said?" Tony simply glanced away from the screen for only a moment before turning back, knowing this was a conversation she was really having with herself. "He said sure Betty, do what you want and you know what I took that as?" it was another rhetorical question that Tony had no desire to answer anyway. "I took that as him being ok with me letting the world know just how extraordinary I think he is. There was nothing shameful or embarrassing in that book. I thought I knew what he was thinking all the time, like I thought I really knew him, but it turns out I don't." she looked back down to her hands. "A stranger who forced him into a bathroom knew him better."

"Did he ever tell you why she held him in that bathroom?" Tony asked and Betty looked over to him to see he wasn't even looking over to her. "She was a freshman in college and she had to do this science project. She had to present something that was currently happening in the science world. She decided to do the opposite of what everyone else was doing and she was going to talk about someone no one had ever heard of." he glanced over to the woman who sat watching him. "His name was Brian Banner. You see she found that in the early days Mr. Banner was one of the few physicists working on a clean way to create nuclear energy. So she was researching this guy and his findings were incredible, until there was an explosion and he was let go." he chuckled as he turned back to the screen. "Now she said in her younger years she was a bit of a conspiracy theorist and I told her that would be true if she were saying she was still in her younger years, but whatever. Her mind instantly began wondering if this explosion in a nuclear lab could've done something to him. So she found his son, the only living relative of the man and she decided she would go see him."

"That's crazy." Betty said with a shake of her head and Tony looked over to her.

"Maybe, but she had a piece of yarn and my kitten will always follow where it leads." Tony replied turning back to the monitor. "She found out that Bruce too was a scientist over at Culver and thought if she would win him over then she'd have to give him something. She found out about his experimenting with the Gammasphere—"

"Nobody knew that." Betty interrupted once again and Tony sighed turning back to her. "We were working in a military research facility, none of our experiments were public knowledge." Tony simply stared at her and then it finally hit her. "Unless you're some computer hacker who can get into any computer you want."

"Exactly," Tony replied with a nod. "So she found Bruce and she brought data. His data actually, only better, but the crazy girl telling you that she's been researching your crazy abusive dad doesn't scream reliable source."

"And then the bathroom?"

"The bathroom was a last resort. He wasn't listening and she thought if he really listened then he'd see that she wasn't crazy."

"But holding a fire extinguisher in his face didn't help and so I called the police." Betty replied. "We never saw her again after that, well I never did until that book signing."

"Bruce was the son of man he thought was crazy, Katie was the daughter of a man she thought was crazy." Tony said with a shrug. "Different crazy, but still resulting in very screwed up kids and that's why she understood why that book was a bad idea. She knew that his life was only something he could handle and sharing it with the world just made it—"

"Cheap." Betty murmured turning away, finally understanding what she should've understood a long time ago. The lab fell into silence, until JARVIS voice broke the room.

"Sir, I have incoming data from General Thaddeus Ross." JARVIS informed just as Betty's phone rang. She quickly answered bringing it to her ear.

"Hello General," she greeted before looking over to Tony and nodding. "Yes we got it, thank—" he lips tightened as she listened to her father. "I will let him know. Thank you General." she quickly ended the call and sighed.

"What was that?"

"The General just wanted to remind you that you owed him." Betty said and Tony simply shook his head before turning to the screen.

"What do you have for me JARVIS?" he asked and soon a 3D map appeared, a red dot blinking drawing in Tony's eyes.

"That call was placed from this location sir." JARVIS replied.

"Do we have a name?"

"Sorry, sir. The only thing I have is the location." JARVIS replied and Tony simply nodded.

"Alright, send that to my pilot." Tony said before turning and heading for the elevator.

"What, you're going there?" Betty asked and Tony glanced over to her and gave her a nod.

"That's exactly what I'm doing."

"You have no idea whose there or what they're capable of."

"I don't need to know what they're capable of Dr. Ross, because I know what I'm capable of." Tony said just as the doors slid open. He stepped inside without another word.

Clint stood at the front desk of the medical unit near Katie's room, his cell phone pressed to his ear.

"That's right, two burgers, fries, cokes, and four slices of apple pie." he spoke before glancing down to his watch. "The sooner, the better my friend." he said before ending the call. He turned at the sound of the elevator to see Tony walking out.

"How is she?" Tony asked.

"She's fine." Clint said with a nod. "Steve said you were working on tracing the phone, any luck?"

"Actually yeah, which is why I came here. I'm going to go check it out." Tony replied. "I just thought it was common courtesy to invite you along." Clint sighed looking back to those doors, his wife on the other side, before turning back to Tony. "Yeah, that's what I thought. I'll call you if I find anything."

"I think I know what you're going to find." Clint said and that peaked Tony's interest. "Kat told me who called her. She said it was her mother." Tony's eyes widened but he nodded. "Maybe you should hold off on this, I can call Nat—"

"No," Tony replied with a shake of his head. "If we really have stumbled upon Mama Chambers, then it's time to finally get some answers. She's the key to getting the price off of my kitten's head." Clint simply nodded unable to not agree with him. Cynthia Chambers was the reason he and Katie couldn't get back to their lives, maybe this was the first real step to get back to it. Clint stood there and watched as Tony stepped back onto the elevator to leave. He was about to go back to Katie, when he looked over to see Matthew propped up in one of the waiting area chairs, asleep. Clint was hesitant to go over, but he figured now would be as good as any time to have those words he had for the man and so he walked over.

Matthew felt eyes on him and woke up, looking up to Clint with instant confusion before looking around the unit.

"What—" he looked down to his watch. "Where's Rinny, can I see her now?"

"Not tonight," Clint answered and Matthew turned an annoyed eye to the man before standing to his feet. "Nobody's seeing her tonight, she needs to rest."

"She tell you what happened?" Matthew asked and Clint just nodded. Matthew stood there waiting for the man to elaborate, but Clint didn't say anything. "Well, what the hell happened?" Clint shook his head, before turning away, but Matthew caught his arm stopping him. "What the hell is your problem, what's happening with my sister?"

"You know what!" Clint snapped feeling the anger he'd been trying to contain spill out of him. He grabbed a fistful of Matthew's shirt and pushed him hard against the wall. "You're my problem. You talked all this bullshit about me hurting her, when it was going to be you, you're going to be the one to hurt her." Matthew pushed Clint hard in the chest, pulling from his grasp.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I know who you are Agent Black." Clint said and Matthew's face hardened in anger. "Nat told me."

"And here I was thinking the ninja lady was a locked box, guess I was wrong." Matthew turned to leave, but Clint moved to stop him. "Move. I should probably start packing now, because once you tell her, she'll hate me, and once she hates me, everyone will hate me." he moved again, but Clint blocked him.

"I'm not telling her anything." Clint replied and expression on Matthew's face showed his confusion. "I should, I'm her husband and I promised her that I would always be honest with her."

"Then why aren’t you?"

"Because Matt, she loves you more than she loves herself. She'd trade herself in a second for you and she wouldn't think twice about it. Telling her that the one thing she thought was untainted by her crazy life is just like everyone else, would break her heart. My wife's heart can't take being broken again and you're not going to be the reason." And with that Clint turned and heading back for the double doors. Against his better judgment he stopped and turned back to Matthew who hadn't moved an inch where he stood staring. "Find Tony, he's about to do something that could blow up in his face and he could use the back up." Matthew didn't say anything, he just nodded before turning and heading for the elevator.

Tony had long changed and was ready to go, but he still stood in his penthouse, his cellphone pressed firmly to his ear.

"Like I said, it's one or two days tops, Pep—" he groaned as his fiance ranted about this not being his place, and how he was once again overstepping his boundaries when it came to Katie. "Pepper, I love you. You are going to be my wife, hopefully very soon. Today though, I'm getting on my plane and I'm going to find the reason why my friend is in the hospital. I need you to understand why I need to do this." the line went silent, and he wondered if he'd lost her somewhere. He wouldn't blame her. He was good at pushing people's limits and the fact that he hadn't pushed Pepper's was one of the things he loved about her. She stuck with him with every crazy and nonsensical idea.

"Be careful." she finally spoke.

"I will."

"I love you Tony." she said and Tony closed his eyes and let her words run through him as they always did.

"I love you too Mrs. Stark." he replied before pulling the phone from his ear and ending the call. He stared at his phone for a moment with a slight smile. He really couldn't wait until she was really his Mrs. Stark. He turned at the sound of the elevator just in time to see Matthew walk off with a duffel bag.

"I hear you're about to run off and do God knows what, and I thought hey I'm game." Matthew said with a shrug.

"You talked to Barton?" Tony asked and Matthew nodded. "With words?" Matthew nodded again. "Are you guys becoming like...like family now?"

"You know if you weren't my boss, I'd say a whole lot of expletives right now, but I'm going to restrain myself. So you ready to go?"

"Yeah, let me just grab my—" Tony's words was interrupted by the elevator once again. This time both men turned to see someone they really didn't expect. "Brucey Bear?"

"Tony, would you stop calling me that." Bruce replied stepping off of the elevator. "And Betty told me you were about to head off and probably do something stupid and I figured I should probably be there."

"Are you sure you're stable enough for this trip?" Matthew asked and both eyes turned to him. "Hey, I can't be the only one afraid of him hulking out when we're thousands of feet in the air."

"The effects from the device have worn off, so I should be fine." Bruce replied. "I did want to wait it out a little more in the safe room, but I'm sure my spontaneous transformations are over now."

"Alright!" Tony said with a clap of his hands. He grabbed his sunglasses, sliding them on before they all stepped onto the elevator. "Let's go."

"You know that clapping thing really is annoying." Matthew said looking over to the man as the doors slid closed.

Martin found his wife standing in the back of their house, looking out over their garden. She stood there as a cold wind past and he could see her shiver. He grabbed the blanket that hung over the porch before walking over and placing it over her shoulders. He brought his arms around her and she fell back into his chest.

"I"m sorry." she whispered. "You were right. Me calling her may have put her into even more danger."

"No, I think you were right on this one Cyn. We can't run and hide anymore, not from her. It's time she found out the truth and it's time we faced our problems as a family." Cynthia turned in his arms and smiled, but that smile soon fell as she looked over his shoulder. He turned following her eyes, only taking a single step before he and then his wife were shot. They both fell to the ground instantly. Martin looked over to his wife to see the small piece of metal protruding from her neck.

"It's a tranquilizer." a voice said and he turned his head to see a red headed woman standing above him. "You and your wife will be fine." he tried speaking but it seemed his entire body was shutting down. "The director doesn't think it's time to let this cat out of the bag just yet." and just like that, the man was out.

"This is fucked up." Mason said from his spot on the porch behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see him sitting on the steps. "This is beyond fucked up." Natasha didn't say anything as she looked down to the unconscious couple. "When she finds out about this, about how long this has been going on and about us covering it up, then she won't trust us. Hell she won't trust anyone ever again." he sat there waiting for her to say something, but her silence only continued. "Rome-"

"Will you just stop talking!" she snapped looking over her shoulder. "Talking about the inevitable, doesn't change the inevitable." she turned back to Martin and Cynthia. "Now come over here and help me get them into the truck."

"This is one of those times I was telling you about before." Mason said standing to his feet. "Those times where I question what was right and what was wrong."

"You followed Fury without hesitation." she accused slipping her gun back into her holster.

"And now he's a ghost and SHIELD is gone. So I ask what was the point?" asked Mason and Natasha turned her body to him. "I sacrificed my morals all for my dedication to an agency that turned out to be crooked." Natasha was used to annoying Mason, cocky Mason, flirty Mason and even drunk Mason. She wasn't used to the Mason in front of her. The one whose words actually made sense, and actually made her question her own beliefs.

"Coulson—"

"Coulson knows that once she knows, he loses her. SHIELD has thrown way too many curve balls her way and this one—this one will take the cake." he said before standing beside her and they both look down to the couple. "Not talking about the inevitable doesn't change the inevitable." Natasha looked over to him for a long moment before turning away. "But we're good soldiers, right?" he bent down and grabbed Martin's body before tossing him over his shoulder. "We follow orders." Natasha watched him turn and carry the man toward the front of the house hoping to hell that she wasn't making a bad decision.


	29. Chapter 29

It was a dead end. It was the mental note everyone thought, but didn't say out loud. Tony, Bruce and Matthew had searched the house over and over again. Tony even had JARVIS pull up the schematics for the property for any secret passages, or hiding spots, but there was nothing.

"Ok, not to be the broken record or anything, but are you sure this is where we're supposed to be?" Matthew asked walking into the living room where Tony and Bruce stood. "There's no one here, no sign of life anywhere."

"There's food in the fridge, clothes in the closet, someone was here." Tony replied.

"Are you sure it's Katie's mother?" Bruce asked uncertain as well. "Someone may have bounced the signal to make it look like it came from here."

"That's possible," Tony muttered letting his eyes wander around a little more. For some reason he wasn't ready to just give up on this place just yet. "I think I'm just going to look around one more time." Matthew and Bruce watched him leave.

"Why do I get the feeling that he wants something to be here, versus believing something really is here." Matthew said glancing over to Bruce. "There's nothing here that even hints to Katie's mother is here. All we have are closets with a few clothes, a fridge with food." he let his eyes scan over the place. "That's it?" Bruce turned to him hearing the tone in the man's voice.

"What are you thinking?" asked Bruce.

"There's no pictures." Matthew said turning back to Bruce. "No pictures, no home videos, really no personal touches." Bruce let his eyes scan the room, finding that Matthew was right. "I think this is a safe house or at least that's what it looks like." Matthew looked around even more before turning to Bruce who looked at him with a quizzical look. "What?"

"How do you know what a safe house looks like?" Bruce asked and Matthew just shrugged.

"Lots of television and video games my friend." he cleared his throat before turning away from the doctor. "I know more about our justice system from Grand Theft Auto and CSI than any degree could've ever taught me. I think I'm going to do another sweep—I mean look around." he shook his head before rushing off as well.

"That wasn't weird at all." Bruce muttered with a shake of his head before too searching again.

It was the pain in his neck that woke Clint up. He was sitting in the chair beside Katie's be very uncomfortably. It was his own fault though. She told him to just go back to their apartment and return in the morning but the mere idea of leaving her seemed preposterous. So he spent the night in the chair beside her bed, waking up ever so often throughout the night to check on her. This time when he opened his eyes and lifted his head from it's awkward position, stretching it to the left and right to alleviate some of the soreness. He suddenly stopped when he realized that he and his wife weren't the only ones in the room. Dr. Allen was there, his hand pressed along the side of Katie's face in a very not so patient, doctor fashion. As if feeling the eyes on him, Franklin lifted his head to see Clint's angry eyes on him and he quickly drew back his hand. Clint simply nudged his head to the door before standing to his feet. Franklin left first, and Clint was right behind him after checking to make sure Katie was still sleep.

"I can explain—" The doctor's excuse was stopped before it could even come out of his mouth. Clint had grabbed him by the shirt and slammed him into the wall. There were only two nurses around at the moment, but they both stopped and stared in both shock and fear. Franklin looked over to the nurses and held up a hand. "Everything is alright." they simply nodded before turning and making themselves scarce. "What is it about you SHIELD agents always wanting to resort to violence?" the doctor tried pushing Clint back, but the archer's grip wasn't slipping. "You want answers and I—"

"You're a SHIELD...well former SHIELD operative implanted in this tower to keep an eye on us." Clint said and the doctor's eyes widened momentarily. "I knew you looked familiar."

"Well then you should know that I'm not an operative. I'm just a doctor and yes I am to report to the director any pertinent information." Franklin replied glancing down to Clint's hands. "Now will you let me go?"

"No, because see I doubt Coulson requested you to touch my wife the way I just saw." Clint growled and the look in his eyes seemed to make the doctor shutter slightly.

"She doesn't recognize me." the doctor said glancing back to Katie's room. "I don't blame her. Nobody ever remembers me." he turned back to Clint's whose eyes didn't seem to sympathetic to his plight. "You're right, it was inappropriate—" Clint jerked the man forward before slamming him back into the wall. "What the hell, I was apologizing."

"I don't care. You touch my wife again and I will kill you." Clint released the man, but didn't move too far. "Tell the director that if he wants to know what's happening here, then he can find out himself. You should probably get as faraway from here as possible, because as soon as Tony finds out—"

"He won't," the doctor said before smoothing out his jacket. "And you're not going to tell him."

"And why is that?"

"Because your wife has an enemy list out the door and those enemies aren't across the pond anymore. They're here, right outside those doors. And they look like policemen, mailmen and doctors. And they're disguises are good, too good. You're not going to get rid of me because you can't trust that my replacement won't inject her with a lethal dose of morphine. You may not want to admit it, you need me. We're cut from the same cloth and at the moment that's what you need when it comes to the safety of your wife and child."

"That cloth we're cut from, SHIELD was infiltrated by a terrorist organization , so us both being apart of that really isn't a good selling point, two I do not trust you, so until I'm verified from the director personally, you really should keep your distance from my wife." Clint took a dangerous step closer, leaving barely any room between the two men. "And if you so much as look at my wife in a way I do not like, trust me when I say that I will end you." Clint turned and walked back to Katie's room, not needing to say anything else. The moment he was gone, Franklin dug in the pocket of his lab coat and pulled out his cell phone. He pressed a single button before bringing it to his ear.

"Yeah, this is Agent 9032, I need a direct line to the director," the doctor said looking up to Katie's door. "And if you could do that as soon as possible, I would greatly appreciate it."

Clint walking back into Katie's room to find her sitting up, her hands pressed against her face. He was by her side in no time flat.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked placing a hand on her back. She lifted her head and turned to him and just shook her head.

"Bad dream." she said simply before looking over his shoulder to the open window that let in the bright sunlight. "It's morning." she brought her eyes back to him.

"It's actually late after noon." he replied and her eyes widened slightly. "You've been out for a while."

"Well can we leave yet?" she asked anxiously. "I really want to talk to Coulson as soon as possible."

"I think you should take it easy." Clint said and the look of surprise on Katie's face was unmistakable. " Look I know you want answers, but the deeper you get into this, the more upset you get and we see what happens when you get upset."

"My dead mother called me, who wouldn't be upset about that?!" Katie snapped with a shake of her head. "You're not benching me from this, so you can save your breath."

"Are we even going to talk about this?" Clint asked and Katie let out an annoyed sigh. "I know you want to go into this head first, but it's not working." she turned back to him. "You had a panic attack because you heard her voice. What happens if you see her face, or if she tells you why she left? You're not ready for that."

"Don't tell me what I'm ready for Bart!" she snapped. He was treating her like a child and it wasn't the first time. He had a tendency to mistake caring for controlling and at the moment she really wasn't in the mood to just ignore it like she always did. The monitors were beeping loudly and Clint lifted his head to one of the machines.

"Kat, you need to calm down, you-"

"I'm the one who thought her mother died giving birth to her, and now that I know that's not true, I think I deserve to know why." she said, the machines seeming to beep even louder and quicker.

"Kat-"

"I have questions, lots of questions and I'm not stopping because-" she was stopped by the door to her room bursting open and in rushing Franklin.

"What is going on in here?!" the doctor asked ignoring the glare Clint was sending him. "I thought we agreed on you staying calm." he looked up to Clint. "I thought we all agreed."

"Hey-" Clint took a step forward, but before he did Franklin tossed his phone over to him.

"It's for you" Franklin said before nudging his head to the door. "Why don't you take it outside." Clint looked down to the phone in his hands before looking back over to the doctor. "I will stay here and try to calm your wife down." Clint hesitated for a moment before looking down to the phone and sigh.

"Kat, I'm going be right outside, ok?" Katie simply nodded with a look of confusion as she watched him walk out the door.

"What was that about?" Katie asked looking over to Franklin.

"Your husband questions my credentials so I asked someone to give me a recommendation." the doctor said before looking to monitor beside Katie's bed. "This is not good." he turned back to her. "I get you're going through some stuff, but you have to be tough enough to take it and not let it control you like this." Katie sighed laying back in the bed. "We've already had the conversation about your stress levels and your blood pressure and why they have to stay low." the doctor crouched beside her, and she met his gaze. "You want this pregnancy to go smooth then you are going to have to keep your emotions in check and I know given the hormonal whirlwind happening inside of you that may be hard but it's either that or you remove the stress all together."

"I would like to go home" Katie said and he nodded.

"I need your pressure to come back down for that to happen. When it does, then we can talk, but until then get comfy." the man said before standing up straight. "I will see about getting you some food." and with that he turned to leave.

"I'm starting to not like you very much Dr. Allen!" Katie called after him and she heard him laugh before turning to her.

"Yeah, well I'm not here for you to like me. I'm here to get you better" he gave her a nod before turning and leaving.

Clint walked far away from Katie's room, so his voice couldn't carry, but he stayed close enough to still keep an eye on her door. Once he was far enough, he brought the phone to his ear.

"Sir"

 _"So I hear you met Frank"_ Coulson says and Clint's silence speaks volumes. " _I know you're not happy about how it is he came to be at the tower, but trust me he is trustworthy."_

"I'm sorry sir, I don't have a whole lot of trust to be handing out and especially not to some guy I found feeling up my wife." Clint replied.

_"Frank explained the situation to me and yes it was inappropriate, and he knows this. I have to admit, Frank isn't my first choice for this, given his history with Katie-"_

"What history, she's never met this guy before coming here." Clint interrupted.

_"Well she has and she hasn't. When Katie was still working for SHIELD, there was a bit of an accident. She slipped and she hit her head."_

"Why didn't I know this?"

_"You were away on a mission. But she hit her head pretty hard and knocked herself unconscious. She was out for a couple of days too and Frank was her attending physician."_

"That still doesn't explain why I don't like the way he looks at her."

_"While she was unconscious, Franklin developed...a crush on Katie. One night he was found, holding her hand while she was sleeping and he was removed from her treatment. She never really met him, but they do share somewhat of a history."_

"So you sent a crazy person here to treat my wife?"

_"He's not crazy. He's was actually one of the best if not the best doctor SHIELD employed. Barton, right now we're all grasping at straws, and trust isn't something any of us can afford to just give out. Not with as many snakes we have in our garden. So I'm telling you that Franklin is harmless. Franklin is a good doctor and your wife and child are in good hands with him."_

Clint stood there silently for a moment. He didn't want to give the man a chance, and if it was anyone other that Coulson vouching for him, he wouldn't.

"If I see him touch my wife again-"

 _"He's been warned that you do not work for us anymore and that means he's on his own when it comes to you."_ Clint silently nodded. _"How is she?"_

"Stubborn" Clint replied glancing back to Katie's door. "I guess you know about the call she got."

 _"I do"_ Coulson sighed. _"I'm looking into it."_

"Well you should expect her call. She thinks you may know something we don't." Clint replied and Coulson didn't refute the accusation. "Which as the director wouldn't be all that surprising."

"Barton-"

"Sir, I don't really care about Katie's mother. If she's alive or not isn't really something I'm interested in. People want my wife for something they think she knows. My main priority is making sure she stays safe. Any help you can provide on that front, whatever it is would be greatly appreciated." the director didn't say anything and Clint wasn't sure if he was still there. "Sir?"

 _"Uh, yeah I'm here"_ Coulson replied. _"Sorry I just-"_ he cleared his throat. " _You've come a long way. A very long way and I-_ " Coulson was silent for a moment before sighing. _"You're doing a fine job."_

"Thank you sir"

 _"Any new intel I get, I will be sure to pass it along."_ Coulson said and with that he ended the call. Clint stood there staring at the phone before hearing the clearing of someone's throat. He turned to see Franklin standing there.

"So, are we good?" Franklin asked and Clint simply tossed him his phone.

"Just make sure my wife and kid are good" Clint muttered before pushing past the man toward Katie's room.

"I'm trying!" Franklin yelled after the man and Clint stopped and turned back to him. "I really am, but I can't do it alone. Whatever is going on with her, she can't let it break her or losing them is that much greater. I'm hoping she sees that, but in case she doesn't, I need you to." Clint simply nodded before turning and walking back to Katie's room.

Tony's search lead him to the backyard. He stood on the bottom step of the porch letting his eyes scan the area for any indication that Cynthia Banks was here. But there was none. It would seem that this may have been a wasted trip, maybe even a wild goose chase.

"Tony there's nothing here." Bruce's voice said from behind him, mirroring his thoughts. "We should go before whoever really lives here comes back."

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Tony mused looking out to the lake. It was a nice day and the yard had a very good view of the crystal blue water. He smiled slight looking out to the beautiful water as it sparkled from the sun light.

"Tony—"

"I know Bruce" Tony sighed before stepping off the step onto the ground. "I know nothing is here, I see that nothing is here, but I can't—" there was something shiny, and metallic in the grass that caught his eye. "What the hell?" he walked over, bending down to pick it up. He heard Bruce moving behind him, until the man appeared beside him looking to the tiny trinket in his hand.

"Is that a tranquilizer dart?" Bruce asked and Tony simply handed to him before looking around for anymore. "Ok, so this makes things more interesting." he looks up to Tony who is bent over looking down in the grass. "What are you thinking?"

"Guys!" Matthew called out of breath as he burst through the back door. "You got to come see this." Bruce and Tony shared a look before following behind the man. "I was all for counting this a big old waste of time, but then I found something." they followed the man down the basement where each of them had been and found nothing. "I was just about head back upstairs when I looked down to the ugly rug that's on the floor. I mean there's nothing down here but boxes of crap, so what's the point of the random rug." when they finally got down stairs they saw the rug tossed aside and where it lay was a hatch. It was opened and beside it was large chest. "That was inside." they noticed the broken lock of the chest and Tony was the first to go over and push it open. The chest was filled with pictures. He picked up one from the top. It was of a baby bundled in a blanket sleeping in a crib. He picked up another and it was of a child as well, this one older, and the features slightly familiar.

"Is this—"

"Yeah, those are pictures of Rinny, I think." Matthew said crouching beside the man. "There's some of her mother and father in there too. Tony, I think she was here. Katie's mother."

"I'm starting to think the same." Tony said looking down to the rest of the pictures. "So the big question is where is she and why was a tranquilizer dart in her backyard?" Matthew looked at the man sightly confused before turning to Bruce who was still examining the object. He stood to his feet and walked over to the doctor.

"You mind if I take a look at that doc?" Matthew asked and Bruce looked unsure, but decided to hand it over. Matthew's eyes trailed over the dart and he let out slight hum in thought.

"What?"

"No, it's just this is good, very clean." Matthew said turning the dart in his hands. "Maybe government issue or maybe something stolen from a manufacturing shipment." he lifted his head to see the questioning looks Tony and Bruce were sending him.

"Is Grand Theft Auto using tranquilizer guns, now?" Bruce asked with a quirked eyebrow and Matthew turned to him and just gave him a smile.

"Nah, but there are some interesting reality shows on nowadays." he replied before tossing the dart back to Bruce. "I'm going to clear some room in the trunk for that, why don't one of you guys bring it up" and with that Matthew was hurrying up the stairs before anymore questions could be asked. Bruce turned to Tony who simply closed the chest before looking to the man's expectant eyes.

"I know," Tony sighed with a shake of his head. "My PA has a secret and I'm kind of afraid to know what it is."

"You think it's serious?" Bruce asked and Tony shrugged. "You think we should ask Katie about it?"

"I actually think that's the last thing we should do." Tony said before giving the man a slap on the shoulder. "Try not to scratch the chest on your way up, ok buddy?" Bruce sent a glare to the man who walked up the stairs without looking back.

"I thought this was part of Matt's job description!" Bruce called after him. He turned back to the chest and sighed before walking over.

Katie wouldn't expect the food of the tower's medical unit to be anything but of the highest quality. Sitting in front of her was a turkey sandwich, probably made with things she wouldn't use to make a turkey sandwich. It looked delicious, along with a cup of fruit and jello and a glass of orange juice and she still had yet to touch any of it.

"You have to eat Kat." Clint said from his seat beside her bed. He'd spent the past couple of moments watching her, waiting for her eat, but she just looked at it.

"I'm not hungry." she said pushing the tray away and lying back in the bed before turning to him. "I want to get out of here, can you make that happen?"

"I probably could, but I'm not going to." Clint said and she turned away from him. "I know you're angry with me, I can't say I'm sorry for worrying about you. I can't imagine where your head is right now, but I know that trying to tackle this along with keeping this baby healthy isn't working."

"I can make it work." Katie said turning back to him. "I know up to this moment I've been an emotional roller coaster and that has effected me, and my body and I think I'm starting to understand that now. I can do this."

"And if you can't?" he asked standing and sliding to sit on the bed beside her. "I don't want to be here again. I don't want to see you in this bed, pale and practically lifeless. I can't take seeing you like that." he reached forward and placed his hand on top her her, which was resting on her stomach. "I need you around and being the pain in my ass for as long as possible." that made her smile and as always when she smile he swore there was nothing more beautiful in all existence.

"We can do this." she said making sure to stare into his eyes so that he could see hers and see the truth that she held behind them. "We can do this and if it gets to be too much, if I feel like I'm slipping then I promise to stop." Clint looked at her for a moment, but only for a moment as the need for something else struck him. He leaned in forward before capturing her lips in a kiss. They only broke apart at the clearing of someone's throat. Both turned their heads to see Franklin once again.

"You know I was kind of hoping that I would walk in here and see you sucking down that sandwich, not your husband's face."

"Well look at his face." Katie replied before reaching over and pinching his cheeks, only for him to grab her hand and bring his lips to kiss it. She looked back down to her tray. "Then again it is a pretty good looking sandwich." She reached forward and picked up the sandwich before taking a bite, her eyes widening at the taste. "This really is a good sandwich."

"Well I fear Mr. Stark would flank us if we gave you anything less." Franklin watching as Katie took another bite of the sandwich. "I think I'm going to give you an hour." she looked up and met his eyes, "If everything is still looking good in that hour I will release you from this prison you so desperately wish to escape."

"Why thank you doctor." Katie said with a bright smile before taking another bite of her sandwich. "Best damn news I've gotten today." Franklin simply shook his head before turning to Clint who hadn't lifted his gaze. Clint simply gave the man a nod before watching him turn and leave the room. "See I told you, he's not that bad."

Coulson stood in the bathroom staring at himself in the mirror. The dark circles were heavy under his eyes and the fact he hadn't been sleeping well lately was just all too evident. He slipped his hands under the water and splashed it into his face before bringing the paper towel to his face to dry it. Before taking one final deep breath he finally decided that hiding was no longer an option and so he left. The moment he stepped into the hall, May was there leaning against the wall, her arms folded over her chest and her expression still fixed on the judgment mode she'd had since he told her what was happening.

"You look like crap." she said pushing herself off of the wall to walk in stride with him. "You know I here trouble sleeping is a sign of a guilty conscious. Do you have anything to be guilty about?"

"I think you're right." Coulson replied stopping and turning to her with a look of revelation. "I was the one who drank the last of the coffee this morning without refilling." she looked unamused as he turning and continued walking.

"I was thinking more along the lines of the couple you have hidden in the basement."

'Well to be fair it is a really nice basement." he countered before she moved to stop him, by standing in his path. "May—"

"They are alive."

"Yes they are."

"Why and How?"

"That I can't say. It's all a little complicated and whenever I think about it, it just makes my head spin." he replied stepping to the side only for her to match the step. "May—"

"They're alive."

"I think we've already established that."

"I don't think we have. If we did establish that I don't think they would be locked up in the basement. You need to tell her."

"That's not going to happen, because HYDRA wants something she can't give them and it's my job to make sure she can't give it to them."

"Can't or won't. Is this more about her safety or the saftey of what you're protecting?"

"It's both. I'm multitasking." he said taking another step in the opposite direction, but she once again followed his step. "I can't do this now May."

"I just want you to be aware of this moment. The moment where you could've chosen an entirely different path and yet you chose this one. I want you to remember that when this blows up in you face and you realize you have no one but to blame but yourself." she gave him a sharp nod. "Director." and with that she stepped around him leaving him only with her words. He stood there for a moment before he continued his trek to the elevator.

Once inside he pressed the button for his intended floor and waited for it to arrive. The ride was longer than he remembered and all the silence and solitude was just giving him way too much time to think. Despite what May thought, he did understand the implications of what he was doing. He did know the possible outcome of his actions, he also knew that sometimes the ends do justify the means. The danger to Katie was real, that much he knew from the foreign correspondents with her name riddled all over them. Right now as the director he had to choose saving her life over hurting her feelings. The doors slid open and the first faces he saw were Natasha and Rick, each standing at opposite ends of the small exterior room. Neither was making any kind of eye contact and the moment he stepped of the elevator, neither moved to greet him.

"I take it the flight was pleasant?" he asked glancing between them before looking to the steel double doors in front of him. "Were there any issues?"

"There were lots of issues, Director." Mason replied, his voice portraying his agitation at the moment. "None that prevented the kidnapping of your guests."

"You seem as if you have something to say." Coulson said and Rick pushed himself from the wall and walked over to the director, an action that seemed cause Natasha to do the same in case she needed to run interference. Mason stood in front of Coulson and it was written all over his face that he wanted to say something, but Mason was a soldier. There was no greater respect he had then for command. And despite his current feelings, he did think Coulson was a good leader and in turn would show some respect.

"Not at all sir." the man said before stepping around Coulson and stepping onto the elevator. Once the doors were closed, Coulson's eyes went to Natasha whose expressionless face stared back at him.

"Did you know he actually has morals?" Natasha asked.

"I did actually." Coulson replied before walking over to the doors. "It's why he's one of the best agents I know." he reached over to the panel beside the doors, typing in a code before leaning in to have his retina scanned. The words "ACCESS GRANTED" flashed across the panel and the doors suddenly slid open.

The room in and of itself was strange. It actually looked out of place. The exterior room was cold and gray but behind the double doors was a beautiful loft. Brightly colored and spacious. There was furniture, a kitchenette area, a television. It had all the comforts of home masking what it really was. A prison. The moment he walked in Martin and Cynthia were sitting on the edge of the bed, the latter bent over with her face in her palms while her husband rubbed her back . Once they looked up to the director, both stood to their feet. Martin stormed over, but Natasha moved in front of Coulson. The older man let his eyes trail over the small framed woman before bringing his eyes to hers.

"Your friend here thinks she's intimidating." Martin said directing his comment to Coulson. "Does she know who I am? Does she know there might be gray in my hair, but I could wipe the floor with her?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself." Natasha replied never breaking the eye contact with the man.

"I would but I don't talk to lackeys." he said leaning slightly to look at Coulson. "I thought we had an agreement." Coulson placed a hand on Natasha's shoulder and the woman moved aside. "It was time to end this charade."

"That's just it. This charade can't be over. Not yet." Coulson replied before reaching into his breast pocket and pulling out his cell phone. He clicked a few time before turning it to show the man. "Do you know what this is?" Martin glared at the man before bringing his eyes to the phone. "I get these everyday. Guess who they're about?" Cynthia walked beside her husband to look at the phone as well, she read a couple of words before snatching the phone from Coulson's hand.

"Sparrow?" Cynthia said before looking back up to Coulson. "That's her isn't it?" Coulson nodded and Cynthia looked back to the phone. It was a transcript, written in German, her daughter's name mentioned quite a few times. She turned to her husband and grabbed his arm. "They’re asking about her location, if she's had any contact with me, any contact with SHIELD." Martin looked back to his wife before they both turned back to Coulson.

"I'm sorry, but right now some very powerful people want your wife." Coulson said before turning to the woman. "I don't know how or even why they would think you're alive, but I'm working on that. Until I know more, until we know more, this rouse has to keep on going for a little bit longer."

"If Sarkissan really is the one in charge of this crusade then there is no end in sight. This woman doesn't die and if she's really interested in this formula then you can bet that she's looking to start a whole lot of trouble."

"I'm taking care of it." Coulson said holding out a hand for his phone. Cynthia took a step forward placing the phone in the palm of his hand. "And you two should get comfortable."

"Excuse me?" Martin growled. "You can't possibly be expecting us to stay here."

"I can. Your safe house has been compromised. Tony Stark, Bruce Banner and Matthew Banks just left it carrying a large chest." Coulson said and noticed the look the couple shared. "Do I want to know what's in the chest?"

"Pictures." Cynthia replied turning to him. "Of her, us. We took lots of pictures. We wanted to remember the good times. The times before we had to give her up." Coulson closed his eyes and ran his fingers across his forehead trying to think of a way to spin this. To spin all of this. And suddenly it hit him. He looked over to Natasha who turned to him seeing a familiar look in his eyes. He had an idea and she had a part. He turned back to the couple.

"We're currently searching for a new safe house for the both of you and until we find it, you stay here. Everything you need is here or can be acquired." Coulson waited for a moment, for questions or protests but neither said a word. He simply nodded before turning, Natasha following behind him. Neither said a word until they stepped onto he elevator.

"It kind of makes sense now." Natasha spoke as the elevator moved. "After meeting them and thinking of her. It makes sense."

"I felt the same way after I met them." Coulson replied.

"So I assume from the look you gave me, that you have a plan?" Natasha asking as she turned her eyes to him. He glanced over to her for a second.

"We have to make it as if this was a set up. The call, the pictures. She needs to think that it wasn't real." Coulson replied and he heard Natasha sigh and he looked back over to her. "I know how I sound right now. How insensitive it all seems, but this is the only way." Natasha simply turned and nodded. "You and Mason are going back to New York." they both turned to the doors as they slid open.

"Sounds like fun." Natasha muttered as they stepped off.

Once the steel doors slid closed Martin turned to his wife, and both simply stood there for a moment. It was the look on Martin's face that told his wife that there was something going on in that head of his.

"I don't like that look." Cynthia said before Martin turned to the doors. "Martin, what are you thinking?"

"He was right," Martin said looking around the room. He was searching for something, but Cynthia still hadn't figured out what he was looking for. "Our new director was right."

"About what?"

"Protecting her, keeping her safe. It wasn't SHIELD's job." he looked back over to his wife. "It was mine."

"Martin."

"No, I am her father." he stated before dropping his head. "I. Am. Her. Father." he didn't say anything for a moment and Cynthia took a step toward him when he suddenly looked back up to her. "I was given two things in this world to protect with my life and I failed. I plan on rectifying that." he turned and walked over to the wall beside the door. "We're getting out of here darling."

"Martin, listen to yourself."

"I'm listening." Martin said still searching for something along the wall. "Our director wants to sit on his thumbs and wait for a move to be made. A soldier doesn't wait. If this is Sarkissian, then we're going to bring the fight to her." he bent down and snaked an army knife from his boot and began using it to pry a piece of the panel from the wall.

"What's the plan?" Cynthia asked and Martin looked over his shoulder to her. "What, you didn't think I was going to let you go out and have all the fun. She's my daughter too." she smiled back to her as she walked over beside him to see what he was doing. She watched him work and then realized what he was doing. "I forgot how good you are at unlocking doors from the inside."

Clint pushed open the door to their apartment, before turning and taking Katie's hand and helping her inside. She rolled her eyes, but she didn't argue.

"Home sweet home." she muttered looking around the place before turning back to her husband who still was holding on to her hand. "So what now?" he looked over to her and shrugged.

"I was sort of going to just follow your lead." Clint said and Katie simply nodded before pulling herself against his chest and bringing her arms around his neck. His hands slid around her waist instantly. She leaned in to kiss him, and against ever urge in his body he pulled back. The look on her face just made him wince. "The doctor said you should be resting."

"You hate Franklin."

"Yeah, well I love you and if the medically educated professional says you should be resting then, I'm inclined to listen." Clint replied. She pulled herself from him, but he kept his hand around her,knowing from the look on her face that she was not happy. "Kat—"

"I'm going to take a shower." she said turning away from him. "You should find a way for us to contact Coulson." with that she pulled out of his arms and headed for their bedroom.

"Good job Barton." he muttered to himself.

That night, Tony, Bruce, and Matthew were back on the plane heading back to New York. The chest was stored away for the flight, as the three of them sat trying to think of what was happening.

"There were men and women clothes in that closet." Matthew pointed out.

"Doesn't mean anything." Bruce said looking over to the young man. "The only thing we have is a chest filled with pictures." They waited all night for someone to return back to the house, but no one ever did. Matthew glanced over to Tony who was swiping away on his holocomputer on the table in front of him.

"The house is listed to belonging to a man name Alfred Beaman. I've run all of his information and have concluded—" he looked up, glance at both men. "Alfred Beanman doesn't exist."

"Well that's just great!" Matthew snapped sitting back in his seat. "The moment we take one step forward, we have to turn around and take twenty steps back. We have nothing."

"No, we have something." Tony said looking over to the man. "We have the voice that was on the other end of that phone. Katie talked to someone. We just need to find her."

"Easier said than done." Bruce said before closing his eyes and leaning his head back to try and get a little sleep before they landed. Matthew took his cell phone from his pocket and looked down to the screen.

"Expecting a call?" Tony asked and Matthew just shook his head.

"I texted Rinny earlier, she said was being released from the MU." Matthew said still looking down to his phone before looking over to Tony. "How are we going to tell her that we got nothing?" Tony sighed running a hand over his face. "She has enough to deal with."

"Well she's a fighter and this is just a minor set back. We will find answers." Tony reassured. He was just unsure if he was reassuring Matthew or trying to reassure himself. Matthew lifted his eyes to the man sitting across from him and nodded.

Agent Candace Calder stood with her back against the wall staring up to the wooden door in front of her. She'd been waiting there for nearly one hour. The voices on the other side that belonged to her boss and a couple of members of the agency's board had quieted down, and she was suspecting that the meeting would soon be coming to an end. Her suspicions were verified when the door swung open and out stormed Agent Jackson, and to say he didn't look happy was an understatement.

"Do I even want to know?" the woman asked trying to keep up with her bosses quick pace.

"Kane, is being shipped to an undisclosed location where the DC branch will handle the investigation from here on out." Jack said angrily before turning to her. "Apparently there's too many holes in my agency and until I fix them, someone as big as Marcus Kane shouldn't be in my custody." he shook his head before turning and nearly smashing his fist into the elevator button. The doors slid open and they both walked on. "They had some story about Romanoff being apart of some co-op team testing our security and us failing."

"That's bullshit." Calder said with a furrowed brow. There was nothing more she wanted then to find the woman who threatened her family. "She's ex- SHIELD, and from what we've found and it's not much, she's dangerous."

"She's also apart of a team in charge of protecting the world against forces beyond our understanding." Jack said. "The thing is, they want to bust Stark and his team of freaks, but at the moment they're the only weapon we have against the stuff apparently lurking outside of our universe."

"Is that it?" Calder asked and the Agent turned to her. "There's still an investigation. There's still chatter among the Germans. They're planning something and we still have a rock we haven't turned." Jack let out a deep breath. "Sir, I know you want to keep your promise to Black, but—"

"I know," the man interrupted as the doors slid open. He looked over to the woman. "Set up an appointment. I think it's time I finally met the infamous Katherine Banks." Calder nodded and both stepped off the elevator splitting off in different directions. Jack stepped into his office and walked over and slumped down in seat. He was on his last leg, he could feel it and one more fuck and he was out of there. "Sorry Black." he muttered before turning to look out at the night sky.

Katie was freshly showered, and dressed in pajamas, which consisted a white tank top and yellow polka dot bottoms, when she walked out into their bedroom. She went over to look out the window, the sky a dark blue, the stars barely visible. The day was gone and a new one would be here just wasn't sure she was ready for it. She let out a deep breath before walking back into the living room, just as Clint was hanging up the phone.

"Who was that?" she asked and he turned to her.

"Dinner." he replied. "I thought tonight would be a good night to have pizza and a movie. What do you think?" she titled her head giving him a look. "Kat, I know your head is so many different places, but tonight I think you should just forget it all and just be with me." she walked over to him placing her hands on his chest as his hands slipped around her waist. "For tonight, just be with me."

"I can do that." she replied before leaning on the tips of her toes and pressing her lips to his.

_**Somewhere not too far away...** _

There was a plane flying over the Atlantic Ocean. Sitting in the back of was a woman, her raven dark hair in a loose braid that trailed over her right shoulder to her chest. She looked out the window at the gray clouds, just a flash of lightening struck and her lips quirked up slightly.

"Wir sollten bald Landung Madam." a deep voice said and she turned to the man and smiled brightly.

"Ausgezeichnet." she sighed sitting back in her seat and looking over to the red haired man sitting across from her unconscious. She threw out a foot and kicked his leg slightly. "Wake up sleepy head. We're almost close to your brother."


	30. Chapter 30

There would be lots of people. Not two or three, but dozens upon dozens. Like an army. Clint stood staring at the white door that lead to the bathroom, those thoughts running rampant in his head.

"Seriously, I can hear you thinking all the way in here!" she called out to him and his face fell into a deeper frown. The door swung open and it fell instantly when his eyes landed on her. Her short, usually straight hair was in loose curls above her shoulders. He couldn't help but let his eyes travel over her. They trailed over the dark blue dress that stopped just below her knees, but his eyes returned to only one place. "What do you think?" she asked after it seemed his eyes had stopped looking her over and now he was just plain staring. She dropped her own head to see what had caught his attention and laughed lightly. "I read somewhere that people are less likely to notice a baby bump if their attention is pulled elsewhere."

"I don't want people's attention pulled to your breasts." Clint responded though the fact that he himself couldn't turn away sort of gave less credibility to his argument. "They're mine." Katie knew Clint was a very possessive person, especially when it came to her, she didn't know the dress would cause it to go into overdrive.

"That's strange," she said looking down to them once again. "Here I was thinking they were mine."

"You know what I mean, Kat." Clint said walking over to her, making sure to place his hands on her waist. She always asked him why he did that and he told her it was because whenever they were this close he couldn't stop the urge to stop her. And he tagged on a because he can at the end. He dropped his eyes to her breasts once again, before looking to her eyes. "I don't want people looking at your breasts except for me. My eyes only sort of thing. And the girls are definitely for my eyes only. I have a feeling I will kill someone today if you wear that dress outside of this apartment."

"I'm sorry dear, but this dress was bought specifically for this occasion. Do you know why?" she asked before pushing him back so he could look at the outfit. "What don't you see?" Clint looked her over once again, and that's when he noticed it. She saw the crease and his brow and knew it hit him. "I don't want the world to know, yet." she placed her hands on her belly that was totally hidden under the dress. "And I thought since I'm a moving target, keeping this need to know would be best."

"There is an alternative, you know." Clint replied and Katie rolled her eyes knowing she should've seen that segway a mile away. She shook her head before walking over to sit on the bed to put on her shoes. "How about we just don't go to this stupid press conference."

"I don't want to do this as much as you don't, but Pepper was right. People don't trust in the Avengers anymore and they don't trust Stark Industries."

"I thought we weren't caring what people thought. We have bigger problems Kat." Clint said before walking over and bending down on one knee to help her with the straps on her shoes.

"Yeah, we have bigger problems, but we have no next step. I got a call from a woman who I thought was my mother, but according to Natasha it was simply a trap. Someone disguising their voice to bait me. And then there's the fact that Tony, Bruce, and Matthew actually traced the call to a house in the middle of nowhere and came up with nothing. So yes we have bigger, colossal size problems, but until we figure out a way to actually deal with them, there's nothing for us to do. This, this press conference, it helps. We need the people on our side, especially since half the American government is looking for any reason to lock us up and throw away the key. We don't need this problem. We can actually do something about it and so we will."

"Well," Clint said looking up to her in awe. She was a very passionate woman and when you asked her to argue her opinion she didn't back down. "There's still one thing I have issue with."

"The people." Katie said and Clint nodded.

"The hundreds of people who've been invited to this thing. Seems like the perfect opportunity for an evil organization like HYDRA for example to swoop and try to kidnap my wife again."

"That's only possible if they somehow get through the hundreds of security Tony has hired, a hulk, a Norse God, a ninety five year old super soldier, an assassin, and my very very scary husband." Clint leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her ankle and her eyes fluttered closed. "Don't do that."

"Don't do what?" he asked before placing another kiss, this one higher on her leg, while his hand slid up.

"Your hand must be looking for trouble?" she asked as his warm fingers made it to her thigh. If she didn't stop this now, there would be no stopping it later. And that was speaking from experience. Her hand shot out, just as his fingers found the material of her panties. "I do not think so Mr. Barton." he looked up to her with dark, seductive eyes as if trying to hypnotize her. "We're still going." she stood to her feet, which were a bit tingly from the kisses but she gained her composure and walked out of the room. She heard Clint's heavy footsteps behind her. "Now stop trying to seduce me." She had only made it into the living room, when his hand snaked around her waist and he turned her to face him before hoisting her up and pressing her back against the wall. Her legs wrapped around his hips as her eyes shot down to his green ones.

"I don't think that's possible, Mrs. Barton." Clint replied his eyes looking down to her lips. He was definitely playing dirty right now. He leaned in to capture her lips and Katie felt every opposition to the move fleeting from her brain.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Stark is outside your door." JARVIS said bringing them both back to reality.

"Tell him we're not going!" Clint called.

"Don't do that JARVIS." Katie called after and Clint's face once again found a frown as he looked at her. "I know you're scared of what's out there and so am I, but we can't—" she felt his hands that were supporting her thighs tighten. "We can't stay cooped up in here. We can't give them that kind of power over us."

"If there is any sign of trouble. If anybody even looks at you wrong, we're gone. I don't care if I have to toss you over my shoulder and carry you out of there myself, but I will. Do you understand?" she placed a hand on the side of his face and he leaned into her touch. "And don't plan on me leaving your side at all."

"Good thing I like looking at your face, or that would've been a total bummer." she said with a smile, and he couldn't help it. The urge to kiss her was to great and so he leaned forward, capturing her lips with his in a searing kiss.

"Mr. Stark has become very—”

"Hey, knock it off you two!" Tony's voice called and both Katie and Clint pulled around looking around their apartment for the source. "We have to go, now put on your clothes and lets go."

"Have I said how much I dislike him today?" Clint asked turning back to Katie who smiled before reaching down to wipe the lipstick from his face.

"I have to fix my make up and then we can go." Katie said and Clint nodded, but didn't make an effort to move. "You're going to have to let me go." he let out a loud breath before carefully placing her back on the floor before watching her rush back into their bedroom.

"Is someone going to answer the door?" Tony's voice echoed and Clint let out another sigh before stalking toward the door. He pulled it open where he found Tony standing, his cell phone to his ear. "Well it took you long enough." he walked past Clint into the apartment without an invitation. "So where's my kitten?" Clint would counter with not calling his wife Kitten, but at this point decided to just save his breath. Tony was looking around the apartment as he placed his phone in the breast pocket of his black, tailored suit.

"She'll be out in a minute." Clint said grabbing his jacket from the couch and slipping it on. "I know we talked about this for hours last night, but are you sure this is going to be safe?"

"Honestly, I can't promise that" Tony said turning to the man knowing that's not what he wanted to hear. "What I can promise is that the security hired for the event has been vetted by the best who will also be there as the head of security."

"Not that I don't trust Happy, but—"

"I get it. Precious cargo and all. I get it. There will be a car on the ready in case we need to leave. There will even be a chopper waiting in case we need to leave in a hurry. I'm bringing one of my prototype suits just in case aliens decide to attack and then there's the fact that we'll all be there. We're her body guards and nothing will get passed us." Clint closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He was fine knowing she was here, relatively safe in these walls. But out there, everything was circumstantial. Everywhere there was risk. Each of those risks playing on repeat in his head at the moment. "There is literally nothing more we can do to make this even more safe." Clint opened his mouth to speak when their attention was pulled to the sound of high heeled feet. Both men turned, as Katie appeared with a smile.

"Alright, I'm ready." Katie said looking between the two men and stopping on Tony. "Stop staring."

"It's kind of hard when they're so—" Tony stopped talking and cleared his throat before turning to Clint who was staring at him waiting for him to finish his thought. He figured as much as he liked getting under the archer's skin, that commenting on his wife's breasts would be a very bad move. "You know I think I hear Pepper calling my name." and with that he rushed out the door.

"That was uncalled for." Katie said and Clint turned to her with a look of disbelief.

"I don't think we will agree on that." Clint said grabbing Katie's jacket from her hands and helping her put it on. "Kat, there will be a lot of people—"

"Bart—"

"Wait, listen. There will be a lot of people with a lot of questions about stuff we would rather forget. If it gets too much, or if you feel uncomfortable, I want you to tell me and I'll get us out of there, ok?" Katie turned and gave him a nod.

"Ok, I promise." Katie said. Clint smiled before placing a kiss on her cheek. He took her hand in his and led her to the door.

Katie didn't start to get nervous until they were halfway there and told that security was waiting for them. They were in the back of a limo, her eyes out the window watching the passing scenery. She unknowingly gave Clint's hand a squeeze, causing him to turn in her direction.

"You alright?" he asked and suddenly all eyes were on her. She turned to see Clint, Tony and Pepper all staring at her. She plastered on a smile and nodded.

"I'm fine." she said before turning to look out the window.

"Ok, so I know we've gone through this already, but I think we should go over the speaking points one more time." Pepper said looking down to the tablet in her lap.

"Pepper," Tony said reaching over and taking the tablet that had been glued to her hands and plucking it from her fingers. "Calm down. Everything will be fine. We answer a couple of questions, we smile, tell them we're still protecting them and then we go." he looked over to Clint and Katie. "Oh, we should go back to that Shawarma place again. I've been meaning to take Pepper."

"I think we will go another time." Clint said before looking back over to Katie. He wasn't going to tempt fate. They would go do this press conference and go straight back to the tower. That was the plan and there would be no diversion.

They stopped, but it was only a road block. That made her nervous. The streets were actually blocked off for this conference. In her head she imagine a a few people, but for them to have to block off the street, then there just had to be more than that. Pepper's phone rang and they all looked over to her.

"Hey Happy." she greeted. She silently nodded before ending the call. She looked up to their faces. "Happy said they're ready for us."

"Already?" Katie asked and she once again got looks. "I just thought we would have to wait for the others."

"Everyone else is already here." Pepper said removing her glasses and sliding them in her purse along with her tablet. "Everyone's actually waiting for us." the car suddenly came to a stop and Katie turned to look out the window to see the man people standing looking up to a stage that seemed to be placed in the middle of the street. The door opened and the sound of people screaming and the flashing of camera's hit her. She turned to see Tony and Pepper already stepping out of the car. Soon Happy's face appeared inside the car.

"C'mon we should get a move on." he said before placing a hand to the com in his ear. "Everything is on a schedule." Clint nodded before sliding to get out of the car, Katie's hand still in his. He only stopped when he realized that Katie wasn't moving behind him. "Guys"

"Give us a second Happy." Clint said. Happy looked as if he wanted to argue, but he looked over to Katie and simply nodded before shutting the door. Clint turned his body to Katie, placing his hands on her shoulder. "Say the word and we're gone." she looked up to his eyes and shook his head.

"I'm fine, it's just a bit much." Katie whispered turning to glance out the window. "I didn't think there would be so many people."

"Neither did I." Clint said following her gaze. "It's your choice Kat. Just know that I would be happy with blowing this conference and going back to our apartment and making love to my wife." she brought her eyes back to his and smiled. "But I doubt that's going to happen."

"Not now, but later definitely." she said before leaning forward and bringing her lips just inches away from his. "Not too much later."

"Absolutely not." Clint said before closing the distance between them, his lips smashing into hers, only for a moment before the door swung open again.

"Guys, we have to move now." Happy urged. Clint held out his hand and Katie took it before letting him lead her out of the car. The moment her feet touched the ground they were immediately assaulted the flashing lights and people screaming out questions.

"Remember to smile." she told herself. It was the advice given to her from Pepper. She plastered on a fake smile, waving ever so often as she walked passed the press. Clint's arm wrapped around her waist pulling her against his side. She looked up to his face to see he wasn't smiling. His eyes darted around the crowd, almost daring someone to get too close.

They arrived at a barrier that separated the stage from the press, giving them a break from smiling. It's where they found the others waiting to go on stage.

"You alright?" Clint asked dropping his eyes to hers. She nodded to reassure him, but her heart was hammering in her chest. This really wasn't where she wanted to be. Her entire life she was taught to stay out of the spot light, and now she was going to stand on a stage and present herself to hundreds of people. Suddenly a man with a headset walked over to her, but Clint quickly grabbed the man and pushed him back.

"Um, I have your microphones sir." the man said obviously scared.

"It's so the people can hear you when you're talking." Pepper said looking over to them. Clint turning back to the man, snatching the microphones from his hand.

"We'll do it." he almost growled at the man who simply nodded before rushing off.

"So is anyone else nervous about this?" Steve asked fiddling with the tie he was wearing. Pepper picked out a very modern blue suit for him to wear. He didn't really like it, but wore it for the sake of the conference. "I'm not really good with lots of people."

"Don't worry Rodgers, you shouldn't fear crowds." Thor said walking over giving the man a firm pat on the shoulder. He too was sans his usual Asgard duds, now tailored head to toe in an armani suit, not tie, a few buttons open. He was a full blown catalog model, which why Jane wasn't leaving his side.

"No, he shouldn't." Tony added as he slipped off his sun glasses and slipped them into his pocket. "He should fear all the desperate women out there who are going to be throwing their underwear at him."

"That's not going to happen is it?" Steve asked his eyes wide at the thought. "Stark, are you messing with me?"

"Don't worry Steve, that doesn't really happen" Pepper said trying to reassure the man. "Usually." she turned to Bruce who held a styrofoam cup. "Are you sure you can handle this Bruce?"

"Yeah, I'm totally in control right now." Bruce said before taking a sip of his tea. "I probably shouldn't stay long though. I've never been very fond of crowds."

"I don't think anyone here is." Natasha muttered from her spot off to the side. She decided on wearing a black pant suit, her red hair pulled into a pony tail. "I think we all can agree that the sooner we get this over with, the better."

"Agreed." they all said in unison.

"I think it's starting." Pepper said as they looked to the screen that showed the stage as the mayor stepped out walking to the podium.

"People of New York, I would like to thank you for coming out today. I would like to thank you on the behalf of the entire City of New York." Mayor White said with a wide smile as he looked out to the crowd. "Today is a special day. Today we reassure the city of New York and we reassure the world. I know what you've been seeing and hearing and I know you're scared. I know you're worried, but I remember seeing a team of extraordinary people fighting a fight that only they could've won. It's that team of people that help me sleep at night. It's that team of people who are here today to show you all that they're here. That they've always been here and that they always will." the crowd erupted in applause. "Alright, alright. I know you all didn't come here to see me, so I'll pass the mic to Stark Industries CEO Virginia Potts." the crowd clapped as Pepper walked onto the stage, smiling and waving as she walked out to the podium.

"She really is a natural." Katie said as they crowded around the screen and stared up to Pepper. "I'm probably going to barf when I get up there."

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll probably do the same." Steve said and Katie gave him a smile.

"Ok, so neither one of you should stand next to me." Tony said not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Ladies and Gentleman I first want to thank you all for showing up today and giving us your support. Stark Industries has dedicated itself to being a company for the people and we just want you to know that hasn't changed."

"Then why hide your former CD's death!" someone yelled and Pepper simply smiled.

"All questions will be answered during the scheduled Q and A." the woman said clearing her throat. "As I was saying..."

"You go honey." Tony said with a smile as he looked up to his fiance.

"Alright, so everything is clear." Happy said and they all turned to him. "Crowd seems to be relatively tame."

"Relatively?" Clint asked.

"Well except for the few Avenger groupies." Happy said with a shrug. "I think I've convinced them to keep their clothes on for the entire press conference."

"That's why I hired you buddy!" Tony called gaining a glare from his head of security. "Make sure all our people are wearing their cameras."

"Cameras?" Steve asked and Happy tapped one of his button.

"The boss equipped us all with these cameras. Every face we see, it's scans it for their threat level. So if there is a known terrorist in the crowd we're like to spot them." Happy said with a nod. "I should get back out there. Good luck guys and if all else fails, imagine everyone naked."

"I doubt that will be a problem." Tony said slipping his signatures shades back on. "Everyone will be too busy looking at Kitten's breasts to pay attention to the rest of us."

"That's it, you're dead Stark." Clint snapped before moving to grab the man, but before he could Pepper's voice stopped him.

"And without further ado, I would like to welcome Tony Stark, Dr. Bruce Banner, Captain Steve Rodgers, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, and Katherine Banks!" the woman yelled and crowd roared and applauded. "Please help me welcome, The Avengers!"

"And that's my cue." Tony said flashing the rest of the team a smile before turning and walking up the stairs that lead to the stage. Katie watched as the others followed him, but her feet didn't move.

"She called me Katherine Banks." Katie said and Clint turned to her with a furrowed brow. "I haven't been Katherine Banks in a very long time."

"I know who you are," Clint replied giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Mrs. Barton." she smiled and they turned and walked up the stairs that lead to the stage. Once they finally were there, they finally got a good look at the crowd. There were hundreds of people, their eyes on them. Katie felt herself move closer to Clint, whose hand snakes around her waist allowing her to get as close as possible. She had to toss up an arm to block the flashing lights that were hitting them.

"People of New York." Tony spoke deciding to take the lead which the others had no problem with. He's the only one who actually had no problem with being in the spot light and they had no problem with letting him have it. "Actually people of the world, somewhere along the lines you guys went nuts or caught an extreme case of amnesia. I know you've heard talks of SHIELD and HYDRA, but I think you should know, so have we. Trust me when I say we're on top of it and any other fight that come this way. So don't lose faith in us, because we haven't lost faith in you. We will stand, we will fight and we will avenge." the crowd applauded at his words and he smiled waving in true Tony Stark fashion. Katie stood there watching him. How he was so in his element here and how they all looked to him like he was some sort of god.

"And now we will open up the floor to any questions." Pepper said. "But please be aware that the team does reserve the right to not answer any question they may deem too personal or a violation of the oaths they have taken for our country."

"Alright, whose the lucky person who gets to go first." Tony said with a clap of his hands as he looked out into the crowds. They were already aware that Pepper had pre selected a few news outlets who would ask questions. They were given a list of topics to discuss, but whether they stuck to the list was anyone's guess.

"Over here!" a male voice said into a microphone held by one of the events assistants. "Michael Brand, reporter for the Daily New Yorker."

"Alright, before you even ask, yes I was born this good looking." Tony said gaining laughs from the crowd. "Whose next?"

"Very funny Mr. Stark, but I have a different question." Michael said his eyes going where everyone knew they would go. No matter how much they wished it didn't, they knew the center of the majority of question would be with Katie. "Ms. Banks, my question is for you actually." Katie stared for a moment before smiling.

"Good," she said taking a slight step forward. "You just helped me win the bet of who would get the first question." that got her laughs and she took a deep breath as she awaited her question. "Go ahead."

"I think the number one question everyone here wants answered is why you faked your death?" he said and Katie nodded. She expected this question. She wished people really did stumble upon some amnesia and forget that, but it was long shot.

"That is a very good question." Katie said glancing over to Clint who still held her hand. She looked back into the crowd. "One that I wish I could go into detail with you, but I can't. It's all very complicated, but I will say that I am sorry for any feelings I may have hurt because of the rouse. Death is a very serious thing and I promise that in the situation it was the option I felt was best."

"So was it a part of some mission with SHIELD?" he asked and Katie sighed, because she hoped they would let it go, but it seems that wasn't going to happen. "We've combed through the files that were released and we know that you were employed with SHIELD as a laboratory technician. So was the faking of your death in connection to your position at SHIELD."

"Yeah, I'm just going to stick with my first answer." she said before looking out in to the crowd. "Any other questions. I hear there are some Steve Roger fans here, I'm sure they have a couple of questions."

"WE LOVE YOU STEVE!" a group of girls chorused from somewhere in the crowd, making Steve cringe from embarrassment.

"Not funny." Steve muttered from beside her and she gave him an apologetic smile. She really just wanted the line of questioning off of her.

"I have a question. Jeremy Brady from the Post," the man said. "And it's for Ms. Banks." Katie smiled, but it was the fakest of the bunch. " Out of all the Avengers, you're the one we know the least about."

"Really?" Katie asked looking over the rest of the team. She pointed to Thor. "He's from a different realm, I doubt you've wrapped your head around that little nugget of information." more laughs. It was funny, but she was kind of serious. She refused to believe that she was the most mysterious of the group.

"Your history is a secret, even the files released hardly share any details that couldn't have been googled." Jeremy said. "We were all introduced to you four years ago when you stormed onto a race track in Monaco and shot at a mad man. Four years and we still know hardly anything about you."

"Is there a question in there somewhere?" Katie asked clearly getting annoyed.

"I guess the question is, who are you?" he asked and Katie looked at him for a moment and couldn't help it. She burst out laughing. It gained her a few confused looks, but she didn't care.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh, it's just—" she laughed some more bringing her hand to mouth. She took a deep breath, finally calming herself. "It's just, you have no idea how many times I've been asked that. I'm—" she sighed. "I'm just the lab tech, the computer girl." she looked over to the rest of the team. "I shouldn't even really be up here with these guys. They're the ones who are extraordinary." she smiled and turned back to the crowd. "You guys should really stop worrying about who I am, because I'm not important."

"Kat—" Clint said and she looked up to him and shook her head.

"No, I think I should say this." she said turning back to the crowd. "I'm not an Avenger. I'm just a girl who got tangled up with a bunch of heroes."

"I'm going to ask you all to strike that off the record because it's all a lie." Tony said and the crowd laughed. He looked over to Katie with a confused looked before turning back to the crowd. "Everyone on this stage is an Avenger. Everyone on this stage is a member of this team. He looked back to Katie, his eyes peaking over top of his glasses so she could see the seriousness of his eyes. "Everyone here is a member of my family." he turned back to the crowd. "And that's all you really need to know about the people on this stage. So are there any questions about anything else. We at SI have been fiddling with some bitchin new tech that I could talk hours about." And so the line of questioning switched to Stark Industries and it's plan for the future. There were a couple of questions about HYDRA which they glazed over with as little information as possible. They all had a chance to speak, even Natasha, though she said as little words as possible.

Pepper was currently talking about her and Tony's wedding plans and how they didn't plan on having it televised. Which came to the dismay of many of the news outlets present.

"Some things are just best kept close to home." she finished with a smile before looking back to the rest of the team. "And I think that's all the time we have for—"

"Just one more question!" a voice yelled and Pepper turned back out to the crowd. She tried to pinpoint exactly who was speaking, but she didn't see them. "And it's for Ms. Banks." Katie groaned. She had hope that she could get through this without having to answer another question. She took a slight step forward, she too trying to find the person asking the question. "Your birth father died in a fire." the statement was blunt and unexpected. All eyes went to Katie who simply froze unsure of how to reply. "Or that's what the reports say. There was a fire and the cause is unknown due to the inability of the witness to recall the events." Katie dropped her head as she listened to someone talk about things she wanted to forget.

"I think that's all we have—"

"I'm sorry Ms. Potts, but I'm not done!" the man called and now all eyes were searching the crowd.

"I think you are buddy," Tony said before turning to Katie and Clint. "We're leaving."

"Katherine Chambers!" the voice yelled and they all looked up trying to find the source of the voice. "Daughter of Martin and Cynthia Chambers!" Katie felt Clint's arm bring her closer to his body. "Mother died giving birth, father murdered and from what I've found, all evidence seems to point to you."

"That's a lie!" Katie yelled searching for the culprit. She felt her heart racing, just hearing the accusation made her angry. It was because there was no question about what happened to her father. She was standing there when the bullet hit his temple. She saw it with her own two eyes.

"We're out of here!" Clint called as he began pulling Katie from the stage. He looked over to Tony who simply nodded before taking out his phone to get the car. "Kat, we're leaving." Katie pulled from his grasp and walked to the edge of the stage.

"Show yourself, you son of a bitch!" she yelled her eyes darting over the crowd. Before another word was spoken, what sounded like gun shots rang from somewhere. Screams and panic ensued almost immediately. Katie didn't have time to react, because before she knew it, Clint had grabbed her, pulling her off her feet and into his arms before running off the stage. Happy appeared at the bottom of the stage, waving for them to follow him.

"The car is this way!" he yelled before turning and trying to lead the others through the chaos that had ensued

"Bart, you have to put me down." Katie whispered in his ear, seeing that trying to zig zag through people running around, while carrying her was becoming very difficult.

"That's not happening." Clint replied trying to push through the crowd as quickly and carefully as he could with his pregnant wife in his arms. Katie held on tight, her eyes looking back to Steve who was right behind them. He seemed to be acting as a bumper to keep them from being mauled. Suddenly Clint stopped and Katie pulled back looking at him, only to see his eyes on something else. She turned to see a large man standing there, his face covered with a rubber Iron Man mask. "You're kidding me."

"Bart." Katie said and he turned to see more masked men, each wearing a face of one of the Avenger circling them. Clint slowly lowered Katie to her feet before pushing her behind him. She took a slight step back only for her back to tap Steve who was was close to her as well. There was a crackling of lightening and thunder from above them and they lifted their heads in time to see Thor dropping to the ground, his clothes torn and disheveled. Katie found herself surrounded by the three of them and she figured that was probably the point.

"I assure you, this is not a fight you want." Thor said standing to his full height, towering over the men. There seemed to be a look a glee in his eyes as if a fight was what he was itching for.

"And if I were you—" Tony's modulated voice said from somewhere. They all looked around before spotting him in the air, now in an Iron Man suit. Katie recognized it instantly. It wasn't fully functional, but it in a time of crisis it could be useful. He planted himself on the ground, making Katie now inside a barrier away from the masked thugs. "I would listen to him." the masked men didn't say anything, they just stood there. "Alright, you were warned." Tony said lifting a hand, but Steve quickly stopped him.

"Stark, these are people, you can't just shoot rockets at them." the man said. If Tony's face wasn't covered he would've seen the eye roll he was giving. Steve turned back to the man standing in front of him, who was wearing a green hulk mask. "Look we don't want any trouble, but if you push us you will find some."

"Yes, Cap, let's reason with the crazy people. I'm sure when they cooked up this dumb as shit plan, the fact that you're a super soldier-" Tony pointed to Thor. "He's a huge, muscle bound alien—" he then proceeded to point at Clint. "and this guy is an assassin already came up. But no, lets reason with them with words."

"I have to agree with Man of Iron. I have found words unhelpful when someone poses a threat." Thor said glaring at the man in front of him who had the audacity to wear a mask that he figured was suppose to resemble him. He began spinning his hammer, preparing for the first blow. "Yes, violence usually solves everything."

"On this I'm going to have to agree with Thor." Clint said before tossing a right hook into the Iron Man mask, knocking the man out. He shook his sore fist before turning to the others. "Who's next?" The masked men only took one step before one by one they seemed to shake, as if pricked or poked suddenly. Then immediately after they all fall to the ground each violently shaking. It isn't until they're on the ground are the arrow type device visible. Tony bends down slightly to see the arrow, but instead of a point tip there is a round metallic plate that seemed to be sending electrical currents into their bodies.

"Ok, where did that come from?" Steve asked, his question immediately answered when he spotted a man standing on the stage a bow held firmly in hands. "Who is that?" they all followed his eyes, all but Clint who turned to Katie, whose eyes were focused on something in the crowd.

"Kat. you ok?" he asked placing his hands on her shoulders. She didn't say anything or even acknowledge his question. "Kat—" he turned his head about to see what had caught her attention, but before he could he felt her body shift downwards. He quickly turned seeing her eyes slip closed and her body headed to the ground. He caught her before that could happen, hoisting her into his arms. "Kat?" the others turned to him trying to figure out what happened. Clint lifted his head to Tony, the only one he believed in that moment could help him. "We need to get to Bruce."

"I agree, but walking through this shit is going to be next to impossible." Tony said looking down to Katie before holding out his hands. Clint looked down to the man's metallic arms with hesitation. The last thing he wanted to do was let her out of his sight and the next on that list was handing her off to Tony Stark. "If you have a better idea, I'm all ears. If not, give her to me." Clint knew he was right and so against his better judgment he slipped her limp body into the man's arms. "Don't worry, I got her." those were the last words Tony said before shooting up into the air, Katie held close against his metal armor.

"I have to meet them." Clint said turning to Steve and Thor.

"Shouldn't we do something about him?" Steve asked and Clint wasn't even all that interested in some guy with nifty bow skills. He had one thing on his mind and that was getting to his wife. That was the one thing on his mind until he actually caught sight of this man.

"You've got to be kidding me." Clint muttered watching as the man sifted through thinning crowds moving toward them. Once he was close, he looked down to the mask men who were still shaking from the currents before bringing his eyes to Clint.

"A grown man and I'm still saving your ass."

"I didn't ask for your help Barney." Clint said glaring at the man.

"You two know each other?" Steve asked staring between the two men.

"Yeah," Clint said with a shake of his head. "He's my brother." and with that he turned and began pushing his way through the crowd to find Katie.

_Katie was only thirteen, but her life was so precise, so specific, that sometimes she felt more like a soldier than a teenager. Her father made sure she stayed to a routine, one he planned and one he had to approve. That's why the permission slip for computer club that was slipped in her book bag made her nervous. He never really seemed to like that she was even in school. Once she heard him mutter that school was too long and he didn't like how long she was out of his sight. She always figured he was just very overprotective. It was just nothing had happened. She'd been training for this fight he said was coming, that never came. They seemed safe, which is what she planned on leading with when she asked him about the club. The bell rang signaling the end of the day and so Katie stood to her feet and gathered her things ready to leave. The moment she stepped out the front doors, there he was standing right on the side walk, hands in his pockets, and his eyes scanning around as if looking for trouble. The moment he caught her eyes he visibly relaxed, even letting out a slight sigh. He gave her a slight smile as she walked over to him._

" _Hey there Darlin," he greeted bringing and hand around her shoulder as they walked toward the car. "How was your day?" If anyone else had heard, they would think he was really asking about the events of her day, but Katie knew better. She knew what he really wanted to know._

" _I didn't see any new teachers or staff." she replied looking up to him to see him nod. "And I didn't see anyone hanging around that I didn't recognize."_

" _Good," he replied giving her shoulder a firm squeeze. "So when we get home, you're going to do your homework and then we're going right in to drills."_

" _Ok." she said hoping the lack of enthusiasm was obvious in her tone. Once she climbed into the passenger seat of his truck, she turned to him before he could climb in as well. "Can I ask you something dad?" he looked at her for a moment and nodded._

" _You can ask me anything."_

" _Ok, well there's this computer club that meets after school and—"_

" _No." he said with a shake of his head before moving around the car to climb in the drivers seat._

" _You didn't even let me finish."_

" _That's because you don't need to. You know the routine. You get up, you train. You go to school, come home, train and then bed. You know this."_

" _I do, but other kids—"_

" _You're not other kids!" he snapped looking over to her. Her eyes widened momentarily before she shook her head and turned away from him. "One day you will understand darlin. One day you'll even thank me."_

" _One day isn't today." she muttered, but he heard her. He didn't say anything, but he heard her._

A snap of fingers tore her from inside her head. Katie's eyes opened to see Bruce staring down to her. She wasn't sure why, but everything seemed cloudy and out of focus.

"Katie, can you hear me?" Bruce asked and she shifted her head to meet his eyes.

"Where's Bart?" Katie asked finally glancing around to see that she was in a hospital room, but it wasn't the the MU in the tower. "Where-"

"He's filling out some paperwork." Bruce said. "He didn't want to risk any more time trying to get back to the tower, so we brought you to Presbyterian. Do you remember what happened?" Katie closed her eyes as the events of the day rushed over her.

"There were gun shots and everything went to hell" she replied opening her eyes letting out a deep breath before continuing. "There were people in masks around us, but—" she turned away. "There was man with a bow I think."

"The people in masks were a local gang looking to make a name for themselves, and thought attacking the Avengers would do that." Bruce said with a slight shake of his head.

"Well that wasn't smart. Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah, Pepper and Tony are trying to handle the media backlash. Steve, Thor and the others are at the tower. No one was hurt. But you passed out." Katie didn't remember that part.

"Why?"

"No idea, all tests have come back normal. I'm guessing it was all the excitement. Franklin is here and he's made his status as your primary physician very known to everyone. He's looking at some blood work, but everything looks fine. You should be able to leave in a couple of minutes actually." Bruce informed her and he could see the relief wash over her face.

"What about the man with the bow? Where the hell did he come from?" Katie asked and she noticed he seemed to hesitate as if trying to figure out how to answer that question. "Bruce?"

"I should probably find Barton and tell him you're awake." Bruce said instead gaining only confusion from the woman staring at him. "He can shed some light on this more than I can."

"If you say so." Katie said not really wanting to push anymore. Bruce nodded before standing to his feet. "Oh, hey, good job with not hulking out. I guess you really are back in control."

"Yeah, lucky me." Bruce sighed before turning and rushing out into the hall. He'd only taken a few steps before he heard their voices.

"You know I would expect a thank you after saving you and your friend's lives." Bruce heard and now recognized the voice to be Clint's brother Charles, nicknamed Barney.

"Answer the damn question Barney, what the hell are you doing here?" Clint exclaimed angrily taking a step toward his brother.

"Oh, little brother watch yourself." Barney countered not daring to step back. "I told you, I heard about the press conference and decided to come see you. When I showed up, all hell was breaking loose. I saw you and your friends surrounded by dip-shits and thought I'd play the good guy for once and save you." Clint shook his head before turning away from the man. It was then that he spotted Bruce and quickly walked over.

"Is everything alright?"

"She's awake and wants to see you." Bruce said. Clint simply nodded before rushing off to Katie's side. The moment he was gone Bruce looked over to Barney who simply chuckled.

"Little brothers are something else." he said with a shake of his head.

"I wouldn't know," Bruce replied placing a hand on his chest. "Only child."

"Well aren't you a lucky bastard?" Barney replied before taking a seat in one of the chairs. "I really only showed up to talk to him."

"Well if it's any consolation I think what you did back there, helped a lot." Bruce said and Barney didn't seem to understand. "You helped save someone very important to him."

"What, the brunette?" Barney asked and Bruce nodded. "What is she like his girlfriend or something?"

"No, his wife." Bruce said before spotting Franklin down the hall. "If you'll excuse me." Barney nodded before watching Bruce hurry off.

"Wife?" Barney muttered to himself not expecting that.

The moment Clint opened the door to Katie's room he couldn't even explain the sudden weight that lifted from him.

"If you say I told you so, I'm going to hit you." Katie said with a smile. Clint rushed over, bringing his arms around her in a tight hug. "No more press conferences."

"No more outside, period." Clint said pulling back slightly, his hands cupping the side of her face. She looked in his eyes and saw the guilt he seemed to be holding. She knew this was the last place he wanted her to be and since he couldn't prevent it from happening them it was somehow his fault.

"This isn't your fault." Katie said placing her hands above his chest. "No one could've predicted idiots would strike."

"Well we're us, so that means mayhem will always follow." Clint replied and Katie chuckled. He stared at her for a few moments, because that's what he needed right now. He needed to see her eyes and to feel her skin beneath his fingers. He leaned forward capturing her lips with his own and letting the stress leave him completely. Her finger slid over his shoulders, combing through the back of his hair bringing him closer.

"Why do I always get the pleasure of walking in on these moments." A voice said and the couple pulled apart and turned to see Franklin standing in the door. "You're in love, we get it. All the making out really isn't necessary."

"Can I go home Franklin?" Katie asked and he smiled giving her a nod.

"Yes, all blood tests came back normal. You're fine, baby Barton is fine so you're officially released." Franklin said and Katie let out breath of relief. "Tony has a car waiting for you to take you back to the tower, but he told me to warn you, the press is outside of the building like rabid dogs waiting for a bone."

"Well that should be fun." Katie said before sitting up from the bed. Clint stood to his feet, before taking her hand and bringing his other hand to support her back. "I can walk, Bart."

"I know, but I'm doing this." he said and she simply nodded knowing he really needed to do this and so she would let him. Once they were walking in the hall, Katie caught a glimpse of their archer savior sitting in the waiting area. The moment he turned to see him, he jumped to his feet.

"Hey—"

"Not now Barney." Clint said dismissing the man instantly. He just continued to usher Katie to the doors, but she wasn't going to let him.

"Bart what the hell was that?" she asked turning to back to see the man, his red hair disheveled over his head. "Who was that?"

"Later." Clint said dismissing her as well, only she was too stubborn to let it go. She stopped her feet from moving before pulling from his grasp and walking around him back over to the man.

"Hi, I'm Katie. You helped me and my friends today and I'm not sure if anyone has said it, but I will. Thank you." she held out a hand to him and he smiled before taking it. It was the smile that was familiar. "Have we met? There's something about you that looks familiar." the man looked over to Clint who was now scowling at him and that just made him smile wider.

"Well don't you have a keen eye." Barney said turning back to Katie.

"Kat, we should go." Clint said and Katie looked over her shoulder to see how upset he seemed, but she just turned back to the man.

"Hi, I'm Charles, but everyone calls me Barney." he said giving her a nod. "And if I heard right, then I guess I'm your brother in law." Once the words came out of his mouth the familiarity of his features suddenly made sense. She stared with wide eyes at him before turning to Clint who simply turned away.

"You're Bart's brother?"

"Bart?" he asked with a smirk as he looked over to his little brother. "That's real cute."

"Bite me Barney." Clint countered before looking back over to his wife. "So you've met him, now lets go."

"Bart, why are you being so rude? He's your brother and he helped us today so how about you show a little gratitude?"

"Listen to your wife, Bart." Barney teased making sure to stress the man's nick name. Clint's jaw clenched as he glared at the man, before turning his gaze back to Katie.

"We're leaving now." he said once again and Katie decided to just go. There was obviously something going on here that she wasn't aware of, but she was definitely going to find out. She walked back over to Clint who took her hand before casting one final glance to his brother.

"See you soon bro." Barney said with a slight salute before watching them leave. Barney stood there for a moment before snagging his phone from his pocket. He dialed a familiar number before bringing it to his ear. "You didn't tell me she was his wife."

As Tony warned, the front of the tower was swarming with press waiting for a statement about the days events. The driver took the side entrance that lead to the underground way into the tower. Katie kept her eyes on Clint hoping at some point he would tell her why she was just now finding out that he had a brother, but he was being stubborn too. They were on the elevator on the way to the lab, when she finally worked up the courage to ask him.

"So I have a brother in law?" she asked and he kept her hand firmly in his, but he didn't turn to her. Bruce stood off to the side trying not intrude, but couldn't help his own curiosity. "When was I going to find this out?"

"Are you really going to lecture me about opening up about your past?" Clint asked turning to her and seeing the hurt pass over her eyes. "Kat—"

"No, you're right. I had no right to ask you to explain anything to me. Because me not talking about the father I saw murdered in front of my eyes some how equates to you not talking about your brother who you're not close with. That's totally the same thing." she snatched her hand from his grasp as the elevator doors opened and stalked off without another word. Clint watched her before looking over to Bruce who just shook his head.

"I knew it was a dumb ass thing to say before it came out of my mouth and yet—" Clint said turning and stepping off of the elevator. "I just had to be the jackass."

"Talk to her." Bruce said and Clint nodded before they walked over to join the others.

"Alright, we're all here Stark." Steve said now changed into his normal clothes. They'd gotten word that Tony had some information about the attack at the conference. "What's this big news."

"So the story flying around the press is that these guys are thugs, criminals, here in New York who were looking to add attacking the Avengers to their resume." Tony said turning to the holograph screen as the faces of the dozen or so mug shots appear. "Which they are. They're records are proof of that."

"So are we here for a recap of things we already know?" Clint asked and Tony shook his head before the screen changed.

"No, my bird friend." Tony said when a document appeared. "This is a medical report. Since all our guys were found unconscious, law insists they have medical attention. But this is one time that I'm actually on the laws side." Bruce stalked toward the document to read it and suddenly his eyes widened.

"Their neurotransmitters are all over the place." the doctor said.

"I'm sorry, I am quite lost." Thor said trying to understand what was happening, which happened quite often on Midgard. He really just wanted to get back to Jane, so he was hoping someone would tell him the issue so they could fix it.

"You're not the only one." Steve added looking between Bruce and Tony. "How about we try that again for those of us who don't medical degrees."

"Someone has been messing with their brains." Katie said looking over Steve.

"Like Bucky?" Steve asked and Katie shrugged before going over beside Tony and Bruce. "So it's possible that this could've been instigated by HYDRA."

"We don't know that yet, Steve." Katie said trying to find something from the medical document. The truth was that she probably wouldn't. The doctors who did these tests probably didn't look as close as she would wish. "Why would HYDRA mind fuck some guys to just look at us. I mean I was there, they didn't even make a move at us."

"Or at least they didn't get a chance to because of—" Steve stared but stopped when he looked over to Clint.

"My brother." Clint said.

"Yeah, about that. Why the hell do none of us know you have a brother?" Tony asked either missing or ignoring the look of annoyance on Clint's face. "I thought we were a team, we tell each other these things."

"Stop Tony." Katie said giving the man's arm swat before swiping the next document to the screen. "Look we're going to need some blood samples from these guys." she turned to the rest of the group. "So who—" she stopped talking when the elevator doors slid open and Natasha came walking off. She now was change into her usual black attire, her unreadable expression fixed on her face. "Let me guess you have already tested them and the neurotransmitters have been tampered with."

"They're all being transferred to an undisclosed location, but yes it does seem like they were only puppets in this whole show." Natasha said.

"So is there anything that we can do now?" Thor asked and Natasha just shook her head. "Good, I must return to Jane. She was quite worried when I left her." he gave them a nod before deciding on taking the stairs rather than the elevator.

"Is this HYDRA?" Steve asked looking over to Natasha. "Could Bucky—"

"Steve we don't know nearly enough yet." Natasha interrupted seeing where this line of question was heading. Steve had searched for Bucky for a long time and still came up empty handed. "There is no clear connection between this and Bucky."

"I'm going to call Sam, see if he's heard anything." Steve said before walking past the woman toward the elevator.

"I still don't get, what was the point?" Katie muttered more to herself as she turned back to the screen. All that was accomplished today was a lot of people were scared half to death.

"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." Bruce said with a shake of his head before heading off to his lab.

"I should probably go check in with Pepper to see how this PR nightmare is playing out." Tony said before placing a kiss on the side of Katie's head before heading out the other side of the lab. She continued to look at the screen, but whispered voices caught her attention. She turned to see Clint and Natasha standing very close, and having what looked like a serious conversation.

"She knew didn't she?" Katie asked and they both turned to her. "About Barney, she knew that you had a brother."

"It's not like that Kat, she's my partner and—"

"She was your partner!" Katie snapped angrily. She shook her head before stalking toward the elevator, but she stopped and turned back to them. "There is no SHIELD, no wonder duo Hawkeye and Black Widow. I'm your partner, at least—at least that's what I thought." she turned back to the elevator and stepped on leaving.

"Ten years Barton." Natasha says turning back to the man continuing their conversation as if Katie hadn't said a word. "Barney was MIA for ten years and decided to make a surprise appearance today."

"You think he has a connection to all of this?" Clint asked.

"Katie asked what was the point of everything that happened today. What if your brother was the point?" Natasha sighed and shrugged. "I think your brother's loyalties came into question a long time ago and that question was never answered. I also know that there are people out there with the technology to alter peoples minds and he could be a victim." Clint turned away because he already knew what she was about to ask him. "Coulson thinks—"

"What do you think?" the archer asked turning back to the woman. "Because I'll tell you what I think. I think the last person I want in my life, the last person I want around my pregnant wife is my brother."

"There's only two possibilities. Your brother was sent here for some nefarious reason by the people who want your wife or your brother is here because he just wants to be your brother. Either way you owe it to yourself and your family to find out." Natasha said before turning and walking over to the elevator and pressing the button. "And now I must find Mason. I haven't heard from him in hours and that makes me nervous."

"You're not going to tell me you're worried about him now, are you?" Clint asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"No," she said as the elevators slid open and she stepped inside. "He's like a small child. Silence is never a good thing." and with that the doors slid closed leaving Clint standing there alone with only the fearful thoughts in his head.

Katie was walking down the hall toward their apartment when the exhaustion finally started to catch up with her. She let out a long and loud yawn when she finally stepped through the door into the apartment.

_It's not time to sleep yet darlin'. You got much work to do yet._

It had been a while since her father's words had crept into her mind. She had almost forgotten about them. She stood frozen trying to figure out why they were choosing this moment to come to her. And that's when it hit her. She closed her eyes and found herself back at the conference, people running and screaming and people in masks standing around them. Even in all of that her eyes found him, but it was impossible. He was dead. Katie opened her eyes and lifted her head.

"Dad?" she whispered getting the sudden feeling that there was something else happening all together.


	31. Chapter 31

There was nothing like the smell of coffee brewing in the morning to put a smile on your face. For some reason though, that smile wasn't coming to Katie's face. Her eyes flickered open as the familiar scent hit her nose, and the moment it did her face falls into a frown. She tosses the covers aside violently, before bringing her feet to the floor. Her eyes scan the room for her robe, but doesn't see it. She simply shakes her head and hopes the fact that she's only wearing a white tank top that can barely contain her bulging belly and a pair of boy shorts doesn't distract from the fact that she was going to kill him. The moment she walks around the kitchen, she sees him with the mug in his hands about to take a sip.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" she asked and Clint whirled around instantly his mouth slightly open as if about to say something, but he stops to take in her appearance and can't help but stare. She's angry and half naked, a combination he wasn't disliking at the moment. He brought the mug to his lips and he saw the way her eyes widened. They had an agreement. He was going to go through this with her and if she had to give up coffee and alcohol then so was he. "You better not-" before she could even finish that thought, the mug was to his lips and the warm liquid was streaming down his throat. "You bastard!" she snapped before turning and storming off. He dropped the mug on the counter before chasing after her, reaching out to grab her around the waist to stop her. "I hate you so much!" she tried pulling from his grasp, but he wasn't letting her get away that easy.

"I'm sorry, but you were playing dirty." Clint said and she turned to him with a roll of her eyes. "One week of the silent treatment Kat is pure torture." she finally stopped struggling in his grasp and turned her eyes to meet his.

"I don't think you would've wanted to hear anything I wanted to say to you." she replied. They were standing in the middle of their bedroom, Clint's arms wrapped around her keeping her close to him. "You have a brother that I, your wife, knew nothing about." Clint turned away slightly and Katie placed a hand on his cheek. "Look if this is something you really just don't want to talk about with me—"

"Kat," Clint turned back to her, his hands moving to cup her face between his hands. "Me not wanting to talk about this has nothing to do with you. My brother— hell, my family isn't something I like talking about. It's in the past and that's where I would like it to stay."

"It won't though." she replied. "Your brother's here and for whatever reason wants to talk to you and he doesn't seem to be going away. Trust me when I say that running from your past is a waste of time an energy." Clint's eyes trailed to her lips that were half parted. Discussing his brother was the last thing he wanted to do right now and so he dipped his head to kiss her lips. She returned the kiss almost hungrily as she tasted the remnants of coffee on his lips and tongue. It felt like it had been ages since she'd had coffee. He heard the vibrating of his phone and he groaned in annoyance as he pulled away, a move that proved dissatisfactory to his wife, who pulled his lips back to hers.

"I have to get that." he said his lips still moving against hers.

"No you don't." she replied before he moaned quietly into her lips as her fingers made their way under his shirt to touch his skin. The phone vibrated again, this time not as loud as it was before. It wasn't long before he heard nothing but the sounds of their heavy breathing, and moans filling the room. They began moving toward the bed, when a loud annoying banging sound stopped them both. They pulled apart, both breathing fast, with a look of lust in their eyes. Clint looked over to the clock on the wall and shook his head. It was way too early for anyone to be here, and that could only mean one thing.

"I'm going to kill him." Clint said and Katie sighed before grabbing a fist full of his shirt and pulling him to her.

"That's going to take way too long. I kind of want you right now, so how about settling for getting rid of him so you can show me how torturous this week has been." she said her eyes looking down to his lips and smiling before meeting his eyes once again. Clint's hands gripped her waist as he leaned forward, but the banging from the door once again interrupted.

"I will be right back." Clint said forcing himself to tear away from her. He stalked toward the door before pulling it open. "Stark, now is definitely not the—" It wasn't Tony. "Nat, what are you doing here?"

"I called you and you didn't answer. Don't we have a rule about that?" Natasha asked before walking inside the apartment without an invitation.

"Nat, I don't think—"

"It's just I don't call all that often. So when I do, you should probably take it that I have something important to say." she said turning back to him. "Something bad has happened?"

"What kind of bad?"

"Clint Barton, get your ass in here!" Katie's voice called from the bedroom. Clint lifted his head for a moment before looking back to Natasha.

"You need to get dressed and come with me." Natasha said walking around him back to the door. "The less you tell her the better."

"Will you tell me what's going on?" Clint asked turning back to her.

"The director felt he should be the one to tell you." Natasha replied with a shrug. "He thought you would take better coming from him. I think you're going to lose your shit, but hey nobody listens to me."

"Bart, what—" Katie stopped when she walked in and looked between Natasha and Clint who both looked over to her. "I guess it wasn't Tony." she looked over to Natasha. "It's kind of early for a Black Widow, Hawkeye Pow wow, don't you think?"

"Kat—"

"Well your husband is needed." Natasha replied with a look of annoyance before turning to Clint. "I'll be waiting for you downstairs." and with that the woman turned and left the couple. Clint turned back to his wife who seemed to be standing there waiting for him to say something. He opened his mouth and to his surprise she shot up a hand to stop him.

"You're going to lie to me." she stated it as if she were certain. "Right now, whatever was about to come out of your mouth was going to be a lie and I don't think I could—" she dropped her head and sighed. "If you need to go, then go. I'm supposed to be heading down to the lab to see if Tony's had any luck with our super criminals from the conference." she turned and walked back into the bedroom and he wanted to follow her. He wanted to tell her that it wasn't true, but that would've been a lie. She knew him all too well. Knew the meaning behind every clench of his jaw, to the narrowing of eyes. They had both showered and gotten dressed, no words passing between them. This morning Clint had hope that he wasn't pushing her away, that all the secrets and lies weren't just burying him and then Nat showed up and he saw a look in his wife's eyes that he wanted to avoid at all costs. His eyes meets hers once he walked back out into the living room where she stood standing with her back against the door.

"I was going to leave without saying a word to you, but I decided against it." she said with a shrug. "I hate all these damn secrets and I hate the lying, but I have hope that you have them for a reason. A reason that I hope I will understand. Too many people have lied to me Bart, too many people keeping secrets that are supposed to be for my own good and every time I didn't get it. Just make sure this is different." Clint rushed over closing the distance between them, his hands grabbing her hips and pulled her flesh against her body.

"Everything I do is to ensure your safety and the safety of our baby. If you have to question anything, never question that." he bent down and captured her lips in a searing kiss. Once they pulled apart, Clint let his forehead drop to rest upon hers. "I just want this all to be over so we can back to our lives."

"I want that too," Katie replied closing her eyes. She felt his grasp on her loosen and knew that he was leaving. "I love you Clint Barton."

"And I love you Katherine Barton." he said hoping she could hear just how much he meant those words. He pressed a kiss to her forehead before she moved aside and he opened the door. The moment he did, he found Steve about knock.

"Oh, hey." Steve greeted with a smile as he looks between Katie and Clint. "I'm not interrupting something am I? I could come back—"

"Steve it's fine, I was leaving anyway." Clint replied before turning back to Katie and placing a kiss to her cheek. "I have my phone, so call me if you need me, ok?" she looked over to him and nodded before watching his head out the door. Once he disappeared onto the elevator, Katie turned back to Steve who was still smiling.

"Do I want to know why you're here?" Katie asked as she stepped aside to let Steve inside.

"Well I think so," Steve said before walking inside. "I finally got in contact with Sam."

"And, does he know something?"

"According to some of his contacts there is this big spender who arrived in New York a couple of weeks ago. They were asking about some of the gangs around town and that's how they found our guys."

"He get a name?"

"No, he says whoever this is, is moving quietly."

"A bad guy who doesn't want the spot light" Katie sighed with a shake of her head. "That's a new one. And at the moment it's all we have." She noticed the slight frown the man wore and knew there was something else bothering him. "What's up?"

"Nothing, it's just Bucky doesn't seem to have any connection to this. I almost thought that I was close, but it would seem that I'm not."

"Hey, he just needs some time. What happened to him was big and it was cruel and very unfair. He was forced to do things and he just needs time to sort things out and to try to remember who he is." Katie said and Steve looked over to her with a questioning look. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just I'm glad he went to you when he did. You have a way with people and I think you may have helped him." Steve said and Katie gave him a smile.

"I hope so." she replied.

"Katie, Mr. Stark has asked me to see when it is that you shall be joining him in the lab today?" JARVIS asked.

"Tell him soon JARVIS." Katie said before looking back over to Steve. "It's like the crack of dawn, why is everyone awake?" Steve simply shrugged his shoulders. "Are you going down to the lab?"

"Yeah, I haven't filled in the others yet."

"Well I'll meet you down there. I'm going to stop by to see Matt. I haven't seen him in a while and I want to make sure he's doing alright. Katie said and they both headed for the door. Once out in the hall, they turned in different directions. Steve going to the elevator, while Katie went to find her brother.

She stood outside of his door and lifted a hand to knock. It was strange how distant they had become in these last couple weeks. He was rarely around and when he was, it was as if he weren't really there.

"JARVIS, could you let Matt know that I'm out here?" Katie asked and after just a couple of seconds her brother opened the door. "Hey."

"Hi," he said. He looked confused for a second before glancing down to his watch. Katie looked him over. He was wearing a black suit, his hair combed back. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting my brother who I haven't seen in days." Katie replied and simply looked over and smiled before moving aside to let her in. She walked inside and the placed was as it always was. Her brother was always a slob. "You going somewhere?"

"Yeah, Pepper wants me to tag along with her for a business meeting." Matthew replied, immediately clearing his throat afterward. A lie and that time even he noticed it. "Rinny, I have to go, so maybe we can just catch up later."

"Oh." she said not expecting to be tossed out so quickly. Katie looked at him for a moment before nodding and heading for the door. She stopped before leaving and turned to him. She wanted to say something more, but thought that after everything he wouldn't even hear it. He was a grown man who had every right to have secrets and she was no one to talk.

"I guess I will see you later then." Katie replied before leaving the apartment. She stepped out into the hall, and headed for the elevator. It was moments like this that made her question everything and everyone, because everyone had something hide. Even her. All of sudden she didn't feel like being around people. "JARVIS tell Tony that I'm going to stay in today."

"As you wish." The AI replied.

Katie was headed back to her apartment when her phone rang. She figured it was probably Tony about to drill her with questions, so she answered in hopes that after he was done he would leave her be.

"I'm fine." she greeted as she typed the code of her apartment.

 _"That's good to know,"_ a voice spoke that made her stop. She knew who it was, she just wasn't expecting him to call her. _"You still there?"_

"Yeah." she replied. "How did you get this number?"

 _"Well as I am sure you will find out, I am a very resourceful person."_ he said and she could hear the cockiness in each word he spoke. _"I thought that we should get to know each other. We are family after all."_

"I doubt my husband would be alright with that." Katie said with a shake of her head. He would definitely freak if he even knew about this conversation. "I have not been hearing good things about you Barney. Actually I haven't heard anything about you and that just worries me."

_"Well what better way to get an insight to the family you married into. Let me take you out for some coffee."_

"I don't really drink coffee." She lied unsure if she should bring up the whole baby thing just yet.

 _"Fine, tea, hot chocolate, hell I know this place that makes the best sandwiches._ " he replied and she could help but smile a little. His persistence reminded her of Clint. Clint would totally crap a cow if she knew she'd even consider meeting his brother, but she couldn't get that look in his eyes at the mention of his brother out of her head. She hated that there was a part of him that he didn't feel comfortable sharing with her. Her moral flaw poked out it's ugly head and that curiosity that would probably get her into trouble someday won out in the end. She looked at the door before closing it.

"Fine, but we talk and that's it." she replied already heading for the elevators.

 _"I wouldn't dream of doing anything else. Meet me at Central Park in a half an hour."_ he said before the call ended.

Katie watched as the doors slid closed hoping that feeling she felt deep down in her in her gut was just indigestion.

Tony Stark was a man who liked to be in control. That's one of the reason he liked being rich. It gave him a certain control. Then people started coming into his life throwing off that control. There was Pepper, and Rhodey, Katie and practically the entire team of Avengers. They questioned him and didn't just let him get away with things just because of who he was. If Tony had his way, he would know all and see all, which is why when his AI informed him that his kitten was sleeping in, he got irritated. Sure he knew she was pregnant and that maybe she was more tired than usual, but she was also the kind of person you had to tear away from work. So the fact that she was voluntarily bowing out of a day of awesomeness with him just made him suspicious.

"Tony are you even listening?" Bruce asked and Tony quickly turned to him with a questioning brow. "I said we've gone over all these pictures and they seem authentic. I think it's time we told her the truth."

"Yeah, fine." Tony said with a wave of his hand as he turned away once again in thought. Bruce shook his head before looking over to Steve who looked just as confused.

"So any luck with the search of who our shy bad guy is?" Steve asked looking up to the monitor. Things were moving on the thing so fast, he wasn't even going to pretend to understand it.

"It's only been a couple of minutes and the search is sifting through data from a couple of government agencies to find anyone who fits the description. It's not much of one, but it's something. Maybe we'll be lucky." Bruce said and Steve simply nodded. The elevator dinged and they all turned as the doors slid open and out walked the familiar face of Darcy Lewis.

"What up, peeps!" she said with a wave as she walked over her eyes immediately going to the screen. "What are we doing?"

"Looking for possible HYDRA connection to that press conference." Steve replied as he continued looking over to Tony who still stared off into space.

"What's up with our resident Daddy Warbucks?" Darcy asked walking over to stand in front of Tony and the man didn't move and acknowledge her presence. "Is he high? Cuz, if he is, screw you guys for not inviting me!"

"No, he's over-thinking." Bruce said looking down to his tablet. "Katie was supposed to come down and help with this, but she canceled last minute and now he's having some sort of mental breakdown or something."

"Not a mental breakdown." Tony responded letting them know that he wasn't that disconnected with the room. "I'm just thinking."

"I knew someone would freak about her leaving." Darcy said suddenly and instantly all eyes are on her. "What?"

"What do you mean leaving?" Tony asked taking a step toward the young woman closing the gap between them. The way he stared at her, his eyes intense and serious, just made her nervous.

"Katie, I saw her leave." Darcy said a bit slowly as she looked around to the guys. "I thought you guys knew."

"Was Barton with her?" Bruce asked.

"Barton's gone." Steve said looking over to the doctor. "He was leaving when I stopped by their place earlier." they all turned to Tony who closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh before turning to the monitor.

"JARVIS, show me the location of Katie's bracelet?" the screen switched and appeared a blinking red dot, that hovered above the tower. "It says she's here." he turned back to Darcy with an accusing look.

"I just saw her leave like five minutes ago." Darcy said before looking up to the screen. "JARVIS play security footage from the front lobby from five minutes ago." the screen changed again and the footage played and just like Darcy said, Katie appeared and walked right out the front door. "See, I told ya." she smiled proudly until she saw the frowns the men wore. "Wait, this isn't good. She still like evil's most wanted, right?" Tony didn't say anything as he stalked off toward the elevator with a very determined look on his face.

"I'm going to call Barton." Steve says taking out his cell phone.

"I'm going to tap into the facial recognition software to see if anything pop up." Bruce says already swiping away.

"I'll go get Jane. She could use a distraction from the whole Thor thing." Darcy says about to turn around, but both men looked back over to her. "What, you guys don't know?"

"Obviously not Darcy, what's going on with Thor?" Bruce asked in frustration.

"He's missing." Darcy said but shook her head. "Well not missing, we know where he is. He's in Asgard, but he was supposed to come back a couple of days ago, but he never showed."

"Maybe something came up." Steve suggested unsure of what happens up in Asgard in the first place.

"That's what I said and then she went on about how he promised and how he never breaks a promise and now she's really freaked out that something has happened to him." Darcy said with a sigh. "And since none of us have Earth to Asgard phone service, there's nothing we can do."

"Ok, well until we actually know for a fact that Thor's in some kind of danger, we put that on the back burner for now. Right now we focus on finding Katie and making sure she's alright." Steve said. Darcy nodded before turning and heading for the elevator.

"You know if something is wrong with Thor, I don't even know how we would even begin to help him." Bruce said with a shake of his head as he looked over to Steve.

"We'd find a way. He's apart of this team and when one of us needs help then it's the responsibility of the others to provide that help." Steve said and Bruce nodded even though he still wasn't sure.

Clint sat in the passenger seat of the black SUV glancing out the window before looking over to Natasha who kept her eyes straight ahead.

"You're not even going to give me a clue about what this is about?" he asked and she looked over to him.

"It's kind of some highly classified information that shouldn't be discussed in this moment." she turned onto the road that lead to the air field. Clint's eyes went to the only plane in the field before looking over to Natasha. "Don't worry, you're not going anywhere." Once they came to a stop, Clint followed Natasha to the plane unsure what was about to happen. The moment he stepped onto the large plane he was greeted with the familiar faces of Melinda May and Phil Coulson.

"Agent Romanoff, Barton." Coulson greeting lacking his usual...something. There was something missing from the greeting that told Clint that something was wrong. "Follow me." the new director didn't bother with pleasantries. Right now there was no time. Clint and Natasha followed Phil and Melinda deep within the plane until they reached the command center. Clint looked around to the monitors, each playing something. His eyes landed on a monitor that seemed to be playing the events of the press conference. "I'm not going to waste anytime. Barton, we need your assistance." Clint turned to the man, wondering what brought along the seriousness.

"Sir, I'm not—"

"I know you have decided to turn your back on rebuilding of SHIELD and I can't say I blame you. The help I need right now has everything to do with your wife." Phil said and Clint's eyes narrowed. "I feel the need to say that anything discussed in this room is highly classified and cannot be shared with anyone. "

"I think I should state for the record how totally against this I am." Melinda said glaring at Coulson who refused to even look in her direction. Clint looked over to her before turning back to the director.

"Sir—"

"Not even her." Phil said feeling the need to stress that part. It was the biggest deal break and he felt the need to bring it up and get it out of the way. "Especially not her and I'm sorry to ask something like this of you, but given the circumstances, I no longer have a choice in the matter." Phil waiting for a moment just looking over to the archer awaiting any reaction. "Do you accept these conditions?" Clint growled slightly before turning his back to the director. He wasn't sure more secrets in their marriage would help anything and he was already skating on thin ice. Katie could read him like a book and the last thing he wanted was for her to think that he didn't trust her enough to tell her everything. "I know it's not fair. I know me asking you to keep things from her isn't fair,but it only works if she doesn't know. Her safety depends on her not knowing." that caught Clint's attention and so he turned around.

"I accept your conditions, now tell what the hell this about." Clint demanded and Coulson held up a small remote before pressing a single button. Suddenly images appeared on the large monitor in front of them. Clint was the only one who took a step forward because who he was seeing, couldn't possibly be real. He recognized the images. They were much older than he remember seeing.

"This is—"

"I know who they are!" Clint snapped not taking his eyes from the pictures of Katie's parents. "Is this real?"

"Yes, both Martin and Cynthia Chambers are alive." Coulson said and Clint couldn't believe it. He finally tore his eyes from the screen to the director.

"Why are you telling me this?" Clint asked angrily. This was a secret beyond secrets and now they wanted him to keep it from the one person in the world he loved the most.

"Because up until recently I knew where these two were." Coulson said bitterly as he turned to the screen to the images as well. "There was an agreement put in place. Way before me, even before Fury. Until we found the threat against their family, they stayed dead, but then—"

"Then people started trying to hurt their daughter and they figured what's the point in hiding." Clint said with a shake of his head. "I can't believe SHIELD kept the fact that her parents, both her parents were alive this whole time. Do you know what—" he looked over to Coulson with a look a betrayal. "Do you know what seeing her father die in front of her did to her? She can't even talk about it. She can't even say his name. And the whole time—" Clint just looked back to the monitor still trying to believe what he was seeing. "Now you want me to do the same thing SHIELD did to her."

"No, now I want you to help us to stop them from making a big mistake." Coulson said. "Her seeing them changes everything. Your wife is being watched practically at all points of the day and if anyone were to even think she is having contact with them, well if you think someone breaking into the tower and taking her is aggressive then you have another thing coming." Clint didn't say anything as he looked to the images on the screen. "You and Romanoff have proven a very effective team when assigned a retrieval. We need your eyes Hawkeye." Clint looked over to the director. "We need them found before they can find her. Will you help us?"

"If she finds out about this, I could lose everything." Clint said looking between the three faces in front of him. "You guys do this and she finds out, she probably won't speak to you anymore, but me—" he let out a sigh as he turned to the pictures on the screen. "She will leave me."

"Which is why we are working to make sure that doesn't happen." Coulson replied taking a slight step forward understanding the man's fear. "Trust me, if we handle this correctly, she'll never know." Those words didn't sit right with Clint. Hell this whole meeting didn't sit right with him. She hated the hand SHIELD had on her life and up until this point thought that since there was no more SHIELD, that hand was gone. It wasn't. And now he was going to be apart of it. Clint looked over to Natasha whose unreadable expression stared back at him.

"Chances are she probably will find out." Natasha said knowing those weren't the words he wanted to hear, but it was the words he needed to hear. Natasha never held back the truth. She was one of the people he could always count on to be upfront with him. At the moment, he kind of wish she would lie to him. "But what we know about HYDRA is that they're ruthless and would not waste anytime to hurt her in order to get to her mother. Right now the lack of contact, and the fact that she believes they are dead helps keep her alive. If that changes then she will leave you, only in a more permanent sense." she was right and he knew she was right. He hated that the end game was the same here, and that he could lose her. The only upside was that one of the options gave him the opportunity to win her back and so he nodded.

"Where do we start?" Clint asked.

Katie doesn't know why she's nervous as she clutches her bag in her lap sitting in the back of the taxi. She didn't expect leaving the tower unattended would be so easy, but all she did was walk out the front door and that was that.

"Right here is fine." she said and the driver pulled up the north entrance of Central Park. She handed the driver a couple of bills before stepping out of the cab. Once she was here, she hoped her nerves would've settled, but they only seemed to be getting worse. She placed her bag in front of her stomach, only now realizing that the top she wore did nothing to hide her baby bump. There was a bench up ahead, next to a bike path, and that's where Katie decided she would wait. Her watch told her he was late, and she was now starting to worry and overthink which was never a good thing. Maybe there was a good reason Clint didn't want her and Barney to meet? Katie shook her head about to stand, when someone took the seat beside her. She looked over and her brow furrowed in confusion.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Katie asked as she meet the eyes of Rick Mason.

"No, what the hell are you doing here?" Mason asked as he turned letting his eyes scan over the area. "It's just I thought we all understood that you're safer in the tower, not at Central Park, alone."

"Did you follow me?"

"Of course I followed you!" Mason snapped turning back to her. "Do you really think getting out of the tower was going to be that easy?"

"Then why didn't you stop me?"

"I wanted to see where the hell you were going." he said with a shake of his head. "And I have to say worm, risking your life and the life of that kid just to sit in the park-"

"Shut up." Katie said turning to look over the passing faces. "That's not why I'm here. I'm supposed to be meeting Clint's brother." Mason turned to her with wide eyes and once Katie saw she just looked confused. "What?"

"You're here to meet Barney?"

"You know who Barney is?" Katie asked surprised that there was yet another person who was familiar with the man and she still knew half of nothing.

"Yeah, and I don't think the Hawk will be pleased when he finds out what you're doing here." Mason replied before grabbing her arm and pulling her too her feet. "I'm taking you back to the tower."

"Mason, wait, what—" they both stopped when they saw the family figure approaching. "There he is."

"Yep, there he is." Mason said releasing Katie's arm and moving to block her from the man as his hand reaches back to his gun.

"Mason, I did not expect to see you here today." Barney said with a smile that was in no way, shape or form reciprocated by the former agent. He looked over the man's shoulder to Katie. "You didn't need to bring your body guard."

"I think she did." Mason said gripping the gun that was behind him. "So how about you do us all a favor and turn around and head back to the land of make believe."

"Still holding a grudge huh, Mason?"

"A lot us are." Mason countered watching the man closely. "But I'm sure you understand. I mean a body count that large, you can't be surprised at the amount of people looking to put a bullet in you."

"You want to put a bullet in me, Rick?" Barney asked and it was the cockiness in his tone that made Mason take a slight step forward and pull his gun from his waste band. He still kept it behind him, but any wrong move made by the eldest Barton would not end well.

"Mason." Katie said placing a hand on the man's shoulder. She brought her eyes to Barney. "Obviously, this wasn't a good idea, so we're just going to—" Katie felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as senses she hadn't used in a while seemed to perk up. Mason felt her grip his shoulder, but his eyes moved to the appearing faces that seemed to be slowly surrounding them.

"How could I have been so stupid?" Katie cursed herself before turning back to Barney who still wore that cocky smile. The one time she decided to give someone a chance and it ends up biting her in the ass. He opened his mouth to say something when suddenly one of his men dropped to the ground. All their eyes looked over to him as a spot of blood appeared on his back.

"What—" Barney wasn't even able to finish his thought before another one of his men were shot and falling to the ground. Mason took out his gun, aiming it high trying to keep Katie covered. They looked over to Barney who stood there for a moment looking just as confused as them before turning and running off.

"We need to go!" Mason said grabbing Katie's hand and pulling her with him. They heard more gun shots from behind them, but neither turned around. They'd made it back to the entrance of the park, just as a taxi pulled up to stop. They didn't waste any time before climbing inside. "Get us the hell out of here!" the taxi sped off into traffic as Katie and Mason both turned to make sure they weren't being followed.

"What the hell was that?" Katie asked turning to the man. "Did you bring back up?"

"No one even knows I was here." Mason said still looking out the back window. "Uh, Stark Tower, and the sooner, the better." It was when the car turned did Katie finally turn around to notice that they weren't heading toward the tower.

"Uh, the tower—" she stopped when she noticed the meter wasn't even running. She placed a hand on Mason arm and he looked over to her to see her eyes focused on something so he followed her gaze to the meter that wasn't even on. He gripped his gun before pointing at the driver.

"If you're smart, you will stop this car." He ordered expecting a speedy stop, but the driver didn't say anything. "Did you hear me, pull over the car!" The driver silently complied, pulling the car over to the side.

"Put your gun down Agent Mason?" the female voice of the driver spoke, and both Katie and Mason froze because they recognized the voice. "I'm here to help you." the woman turned to face them and both froze in shock. Mason and Katie were sitting pretty close, so when he felt her shaking he turned his head to her. Her eyes were glued to the woman she believed was dead this entire time.

There is no instruction manual on how to handle seeing a person you've been told was dead your entire life. The is no how to guide on what to say or even how to react. Katie tilted her head to the side as she stared at the woman, mostly trying to decide if this was real or not. Suddenly the woman staring back at her says something and it's strange. Katie doesn't hear it. The woman's mouth is moving, but whatever she's saying just doesn't quite make it to her ears. A hand under her chin forces her to turn to Mason, whose mouth is also moving, but still nothing.

"Katie!" Mason nearly yells her name after several attempts and no response.

"She's going into shock." Cynthia said watching her daughter with worry. She knew this wouldn't be easy, but she didn't expect this.

"You think!" Mason snapped trying to slightly shake Katie. He shakes his head before once again lifting his gun toward the woman. "Get us to a hospital, right no—" the passenger door swung open and in stepped someone Mason should've known wouldn't be too far behind. He turned to Katie whose head turned and the moment she laid eyes on the man, it was like a light switched off and the only thing that followed was darkness.


	32. Chapter 32

_They were completely out of breath, ignoring the way the gravel of the roof felt against their backs. Clint looked over to Katie and smiled at the wide smile on her face. She turned to him, and smiled even wider. In that moment it seemed everything became clearer. Like a veil that had been hovering over his eyes was suddenly now gone. When he looked at her, he didn't just see this beautiful woman who captured his heart. No, he saw his future...he saw himself standing at the end of an alter waiting for her to change his life forever...when he looked at her he saw a better life, and he couldn't wait anymore._

" _Marry me." he said surprising both of them, but he wouldn't take it back. He watched her closely as the smile fell from her lips and her face scrunched into a look of both shock and confusion. For a moment he wondered if he was just being stupid. They'd just gotten back to them, and it had only been a couple of months. Maybe she wasn't ready._

" _Are you serious?" she asked sitting up and he did the same. Before he could even answer she shook her head before smiling slightly. "Of course you're not serious, you're drunk. If I knew that woman was a hooker, I would've never left you alone with her." she turned back to him and smiled. "So how wasted are you?"_

" _I actually haven't had a drink tonight." Clint said and Katie's smile once again fell. "So right now, when I'm asking you to marry me, mind my is completely unclouded." she looked at him for a moment as if waiting for the punch line. He just stared back at her awaiting an answer. "Kat—" before he could say another word, she had stood to her feet and was heading for the stairwell, trying to place as much distance between her and him._

Clint had no idea why the sudden memory chose that moment to assault him, but as he sat not listening to the mild curses and ranting for Natasha, he just couldn't stop. It was the entire situation that him doubting his every decision. He wasn't afraid to admit that he was actually scared of losing her because of this. When they left Natasha took him to one of former SHEILD facilities that hadn't been discovered by the government yet. It was one of Fury's secret facilities and would do well in their search for once thought dead parents of Katie. The facility wasn't anything fancy, but it was fully equipped with any weaponry and tech they needed.

Natasha had just asked a question about any other strange phone calls Katie might've had, but she didn't get a response. She looked over her shoulder to Clint who sat, mindlessly looking out the window clearly not paying attention to anything she was saying.

"I'm sorry, am I boring you?" she asked and Clint turned to her with a shake of his head."You seriously need to get over your shit" she muttered turning back to the monitors in front of her.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Clint asked his temper already in the brink, and his smart mouthed friend wasn't helping. "I need to get over my shit?" He watched as Natasha dropped her head and let out a loud exaggerated sigh before turning to him.

"Look, I get you've been out of commission for a while, so I'll give you this one refresher course on what it means to be people like us." she stalked over to him, making sure to tower over him and staring down into his eyes. "The job is tough,no it's beyond tough, but you do it and don't let—" she waved a hand in front of him. "Emotions cloud your judgment. Right now you're oozing emotions, and you and I both know that there is no room for that shit with this job" she turned and walked away from him, ignoring the slight look of bewilderment on his face. "We're here to do what we were trained to do."

"Except I wasn't trained for this." Clint said standing to his feet. Natasha heard the movement and on instinct turned to face him. "I have a wife and we're going to have a baby. So yes, maybe I am oozing emotions right now, but I have a heart and I fucking love it. And I love her and that baby she's carrying and the last thing I want to do, one of the things I promised her I would not do was hurt and if—"

"Exactly!" Natasha snapped throwing her hands up in frustration. "Stop getting so fucking wound up about ifs. If you don't want her getting hurt then do the job the way the job needs to be done for that to happen." she shook her head before turning back to the computer.

"I'm the only one here who has everything to lose." Clint said his eyes on the back of the woman's head. "Me. So yes, if, and it is a very big, highly possible if this all goes south and I do lose everything, you better belive that someone will pay." he shook his head before something hit him. He looked down to his watch and realized he hadn't spoken to Katie in hours. His hands touched his pockets only to realize nothing was there. "Shit." he was just making brilliant decisions today. "I think I dropped my phone in your car." he was already heading for the door, not needing to hear another word from the woman. Just as he thought, his phone was lying on the passenger's seat, a blinking light not going unnoticed. "Fuck!" he pulled open the door and quickly grabbing his phone and finding that he had dozens of missed calls and a couple of voice mails, all seeming to be from Steve and Bruce and a couple from Darcy. Something was wrong, but he just had to play that first message to make sure.

" _Barton, where the hell are you!" Darcy's voice practically yelled through the reciever. " This is like the one hundredth voice mail I've left and I could've sworn we had a deal. If I'm going to be the mommy watcher, when I call you, you answer your fucking phone! We're in total crisis mode right now and guess whose at the center of it?"_ she let out a breath and he could hear other voice in the background. _"No, he's still not answering."_ she muttered before speaking to him once again. " _Look I don't want to have to tell you this through of voice mail, but you're leaving me no choice. Katie's gone and no one here knows where she is. She's not wearing the tracking device. If she's with you or you know something, please, please call us. If you know nothing, call us anyway, because everyone here is a chicken with it's head cut off. We don't...we don't know what to do."_

Clint stood there with the phone pressed to his ear, even after the message had finished for a full minute before Darcy's words finally sunk in. Without another word, he turned and almost ran back into the building. Natasha whirled around when the man rushed in, her eyes meeting his dark, and angry glare.

"What's wrong?" she asked knowing something was definitely up. He didn't say anything right away and she furrowed a brow slightly looking down to his hand that was practically strangling his phone. "Katie?" she met his eyes again, this time as he opened his mouth, but closed it as if the words he needed to say just couldn't come out. She stalked over to him, snatching the phone from his hand. She played the first message and brought it to her ear. "Shit." Natasha muttered once the message ended before looking up to Clint. "She's fine." those two words seemed to make the frown in his face deepen.

"How do you know that?" he asked with an accusing tone before stepping toward her and despite herself, Natasha stepped back. "Is this Coulson, or you? Do you know where she is?"

"No, but—" she was stopped by a wall behind her and she sighed looking into his eyes. "It's connected. It has to be. Days after her parents escape, she goes missing. They must have found her. The mission is still the same. We find Martin and Cynthia and most likely find Katie."

"It's the most likely part of that plan I don't like." Clint growled. "You don't know they have her. Not when there's an evil organization out there who also is most likely to have her. So no offence when I say screw this mission, I'm going to find my wife." Clint grabbed his phone from her hand before turning and heading for the door.

"Wait!" Natasha called after him, but he kept walking. "I may not know where she is, but I know someone who might!" she spoke quickly before he could leave and as expected he stopped and turned back to her. "Ever since her parents escape, Coulson appointed someone to her. To watch her."

"Who?"

"Mason." Natasha said talking out her own cell phone and dialing the man's number. She brought the phone to her ear and listened to the ringing, before it trailed to his voice mail. "Shit." she hung up the phone and looked up to Clint finally able to admit that everything wasn't alright. "Something is wrong."

There was a grandfather sitting in the corner of the room, ticking unusually loud. It was the only sound as Rick Mason stared into the eyes of Martin Chambers, not even an utterance passed between them. Their stares spoke volumes as both men sat up straight, not a sign of intimidation in any feature in their body. It was slightly surprising, seeing as one of those men were tied to chair. Cynthia walked back into the room and stopped and looked between the two men before turning to her husband.

"She's still out." she said before releasing a shaky breath. "Martin, maybe this was—"

"A bad idea?" Mason said not tearing away from the stare of the man, seeing as now it seemed like almost a competition. One he didn't plan on losing. "I couldn't agree with you more."

"If it was, there's no taking it back now" Martin said folding his hands under his chin as he stared down to Mason. "We move forward and when she wakes up—"

"You gonna tie her up too?" Mason asked angrily. "Cause I'd bet my life that this little reunion you've been fantasizing about is not going to happen. Untie me so I can get her out of here." One side of Martin's lip quirked upward in a bit of a smile. "Something amusing?"

"Yeah, you." Martin said with a slight chuckle before standing to his feet. He had to admit that in any other situation he may actually like this guy. "This is happening son, so how about you save your breath." he walked over to his wife who shook her head and stalked out of the room.

"You should go after her." Mason suggested looking over to the man who simply chuckled.

"You think I don't know what they trained you over there in SHEILD?" Martin asked walking back over to sit in front of the man. "Hell, I practically created every tactical program that agency implemented. I know what you're trained to do in case you're captured."

"Hey, one way or the other I'm getting out of this chair." Mason said sitting back with a smug grin. "I was just thinking maybe you'd want to do it since, I'm pretty sure she's going to flip her shit when she wakes up."

_There's that moment before you completely wake up from a dream, it's brief and if you're not paying attention you probably won't even notice it, but in this moment is a feeling. This feeling is usually a glimpse of the type of day you will have. Maybe it was myth or maybe it was true, but one morning before Katie opened her eyes from sleep, a sudden wave of sorrow hit her. It lasted for all of a second, it was a sudden feeling of sadness and a need to cry, but then she flicked open her eyes and the feeling was gone. Though she remembered it and was confused by it, she just brushed it off as the remnants of whatever dream she had._

" _Out of bed!" her father's voice floated into her room, sobering her even more. "We're training before school." she didn't say anything as she simply closed her eyes hoping that if she feigned sleep he wouldn't push her into training this morning. She heard her door creep open, and his footsteps nearing, but she wouldn't give up her act. There was a whole three hours before she had to go to school and she could really use another one of those hours for some much needed sleep. She felt him standing over her, not moving and not saying a word. Her curiosity almost got the best of her as the temptation to crack open an eye to see what he was doing seemed to be getting great, but she stay strong. She slowed down her breathing, keeping her face relaxed, doing everything she could think of to make the act believable. "I'm not nearly as gullable as you think I am darlin', plus whether you believe me or not, you snore like a power saw." she felt him reach down and pull the covers off of her letting the cold air hit her and she automatically curled up into a ball. "Get up."_

" _But I don't wanna." she whined childishly and he had to smile at her._

" _I don't care, get your butt up." he said adding a clap for good measure which always annoyed her. She let out a loud exaggerated sigh before slitting up from the bed and standing to her feet in front of him. "Good morning my darlin'." he smiled as he looked down to the teen's frown before placing a kiss to her forehead. "Get dressed and meet me down stairs." he turned and headed for the door._

" _Yes, drill sergeant." she sassed under her breath as she turned to make her bed, not hearing him stop._

" _I'm sorry, what was that?" he asked and Katie stood up straight with wide eyes as she turned to face him._

" _Uh, Yes sir?" she said with a half smile that didn't seem to amuse the man staring back at her. She shook her head before turning back to make her bed.  
_

" _You know why we're doing this, right?" Martin asked suddenly as she finished making up her bed. She turned and walked toward the bathroom, glancing over to him._

" _Yes sir." she replied with a nod as she grabbed some clothes from her drawer. "You are preparing me for the zombie apocalypse." she disappeared inside the bathroom before he could respond, missing the chuckle that escaped his lips._

A sudden feeling of dread struck Katie before her eyes shot open. Her eyes looked up to the ceiling before they scanned the strange room she was in. She sat up from the bed to find herself in a bed room she doesn't remember walking into. Her eyes closed as she tried to recount the events that could've possibly lead to this moment. She remembers Clint leaving somewhere with Natasha, and then talking to Steve before going to see Matthew who lied once again. She left and got a call from Barney who wanted to meet her. She slowly opens her eyes because she remembers Central Park with Barney and Mason and then the cab... _the cab_. It hit her like a ton of bricks in that moment. The faces, the aged faces of people she thought were dead, staring at her. The faces of people who just should not be.

"It's a trick." she muttered to herself the only plausible explanation for what was happening. It just had to be another trick by HYDRA and she for one was not going to fall for it. She stormed to the door, grabbing the knob and twisting it, surprised that it was actually opened. Slowly she pulled it open, hoping her captors wouldn't hear. Her heart was drumming in her chest as their faces seemed to be the only thing imprinted in her brain at the moment. They looked so real, but her parents were dead.

The halls were empty and Katie didn't know if she should be happy or suspicious of that fact. First there was the open door and now the empty hallways. Either she was dealing with some pretty stupid criminals or maybe this was just some twisted game. When she reached a flight of stairs, she peeked over the edge spotting a door that seemed to lead to the outside and inadvertently to her freedom. Each step down gave off a light creep, causing her to to stop and wait with every step. Her feet had touched the final step and the door was just mere inches away when a voice seemed to stop her dead in her tracks.

"Oh," the female voice sighed in relief. "You're awake. I was so worried." Katie didn't turn, she just looked at the door in front of her. She should be leaving, running out the door, but the voice...her voice, just wouldn't let her. "Sweet heart, I know you're confused right now, but I promise we will be happy to explain everything if you just—" Katie took a few more steps toward the door, wanting nothing more then to tear herself away from this obvious trick or hallucination, or maybe she was dreaming. Whatever the case, she needed to escape. Her hand was on the doorknob when she heard him.

"Wait, darlin'." he said and she felt her fingers start to twitch. If this was a trick then it was a very good one because his voice, the voice that has stayed with her practically her entire life sounded so real in that moment. She heard one of them make a move and she finally turned to them standing in the middle of a kitchen, now unable to stop glancing between them both. Suddenly she found the need to find the flaw. Maybe a glitch in a holographic mask, or maybe a unicorn would walk by to verify that this was all in her head. Cynthia glanced down to Katie's hands that were twitching at her side.

"Sweetie, you need to calm down. It's not good for the baby—" at the mention of her baby, something inside of Katie snapped. Suddenly she was in full blown protection mode, as one hand shot up to wrap around her belly, the other reached for the closest weapon she could find. There was a knife block on the counter next to her and she quickly snatched one of the knives, holding it out toward them. Cynthia took a step back, but Martin didn't move as he kept his eyes on his daughter.

"You're safe here." he said hoping the constant reminder would help her. He kept his eyes on her, never taking off because he could see her fighting what she was seeing with her own two eyes. Martin wouldn't even try to understand the wheels that must be spinning in his daughter's head at the moment. He hoped that she would get this train quick because he was getting the feeling that they really didn't have the time for her to draw this out.

Clint had so many scenarios running through his head at the moment. None of them good. He felt guilty, like he failed again. He glanced over to Natasha whose expression hadn't changed and it almost made him angry that she wasn't as upset as he was.

"Can't you drive any faster?" he asked and she just shook her head not even attempting to argue with him. She was driving as fast as she could in New York traffic and she knew he knew that. Clint just let out a frustrated sigh before turning back to look out the window.

_Clint wasn't going to let her get away that easily. The moment she started for the door, he was right behind her._

" _Where are you going Kat?" he asked keeping up with her brisk step down the stairs._

" _I don't know!" she called back before pushing through a door. They ended up in one of the halls of the hotel, still moving quickly._

" _Kat, talk to me." Clint said before reaching out and grabbing her arm to stop her. "I will not let you run from this. From us. I love you." she looked into his eyes and could see that those words were true. "I know you love me."_

" _I do love you which is why I'm going to do you this favor. I'm the last person you should want to be tied to forever." she said before turning to walk away, but Clint didn't let her go._

" _You're right." Clint said and Katie turned back to him with confusion as his hands came to the sides of her face. "Forever isn't long enough."_

" _Bart—"_

" _Just say yes." Clint said and Katie smiled despite her reservation about all of his. She placed her hands on his chest and looked into his eyes. "Right now those are the only words that could add to this epic birthday." Katie didn't say anything and he could tell that she was really thinking about what to say._

" _I talk too much."_

" _I know and I love that about you."_

" _I have really weird friends."_

" _So do I."_

" _I end up in trouble at least once, sometimes twice a week."_

" _I'm used to it by now."_

_He watched her and he could see it happening. He could see her as she stopped fighting the idea that this could actually happen. She smiled widely before nodding._

" _Yes." she said in an almost whisper. Clint smiled unable to stop himself before be smashed his lips against hers in a fiery kiss filled with so much, hope, love and passion. They would've continued but the sudden need for air became far too great than the need of each others lips, so they pulled away, but barely. Clint dropped his forehead to hers as his fingers combed through her hair. "What are we doing? This is crazy, this is—" Clint's lips pressed against hers to stop her from talking. "I hate when you do that." she could feel his smile against her lips.  
_

" _We're getting married." he replied about to kiss her again, but he stopped and Katie looked up to him with confusion._

" _What?"  
_

_"Now," he said all of a sudden and Katie didn't understand. He brought his eyes back to hers and smiled. "We should get married now."_

" _Now?" she asked with wide eyes. "Like now, now? Like right now?"_

" _Like right now." Clint said with a firm nod. "I mean this is Vegas right? There's probably a place in the hotel or on the strip where we could go." he saw the uncertainty in her eyes and realized that maybe he should slow down. "This is too fast, right?" he shook his head. "I'm sorry, I just—" her lips pressed against his shutting him up and once again everything around them disappeared. Once they pulled back, Katie looked up to Clint and took a deep breath._

" _Now." she said with a nod._

" _Ok, um—" he took a step back and began looking around before turning back to Katie. "We should um—I don't—Where do we start?" she smiled._

" _Go downstairs and ask the concierge where two crazy kids can do something stupid." Katie said and Clint nodded. "I'm going to go do some stuff before this happens and then you can just text me where to meet you."_

" _Ok." Clint nodded before bringing his lips to hers once again. Once they pulled apart, Katie turned and walked down one end of the hall, and Clint should be going down the other, but he stood there and watched her. She must have felt his eyes on her because she stopped and turned back to him. "We're really going to do this."_

" _Yeah, I think we are." she replied with a smile. "I guess I'll see you there."_

" _You definitely will Kat." he said. She shook her head before turning and rushing toward the elevator. Clint couldn't stop smiling before turning and walking down the hall._

Katie stood there, the knife held firmly in her hand as she stared between the faces of people she once thought dead. She had no idea what to make of this surreal moment.

"Worm!" a familiar voice called out. Her eyes widened as she remembered that Mason was with her before everything went black. She turned a glare toward the strangers in front of her.

"Where is he?!" she snapped and Cynthia pointed toward the room next to the kitchen. Katie moved strategically, keeping one hand on her belly, while the other held the knife pointed at them as she moved toward the room. The moment she stepped inside, she looked over her shoulder to see Mason sitting in the middle of a living room, tied to a chair.

"Worm?" he asked noticing the change in her features as she looks at him for a second before turning away.

"Are you alright?" she asks to Mason, keeping a trained eyes on the people in front of her.

"Yeah, what about you?" Mason asks. Sure he was the one tied to a chair, but he figured she was probably all sorts of places with the parents who weren't so dead.

"I'm wondering why you're not out of that chair yet." Katie said ignoring his true question.

"He took my knife so this is taking a little longer then usual." Mason said before Katie turned and walked over to him. She didn't look him in the eyes as she walked behind him and crouched down to cut the ropes that were around his wrists. Once he was free, he bent down and undid the ropes around his ankles before standing to his feet and turning to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. She still wasn't looking at him, her eyes drawn behind him. He followed her line of sight to Cynthia and Martin who stood at a distance watching her.

"Are they—" the question seemed foolish, but with every passing second she felt the need to ask it. And at the moment, Mason was the only person she believed would give her an honest answer. "Are they real?" she turned to him slowly, meeting his eyes and noticing something. _Was that guilt?_ She took a step away from him, her breaths now quickening as the realization of her situation began settling in. She looked back in the direction of her-them. "You're dead!" she turned back to Mason. "They're dead. Say they're dead. Tell me that this entire time they have been dead and that whoever those people are standing over there, they're impostors-" she glanced over in their direction once again, and the knife in her hand suddenly drops to the floor with a loud clank. "They're HYDRA and this is a trick. A sick, twisted trick, but a trick."she turned back to Mason. "Say it!"

"I'm sorry." Mason said and the way she dropped her head made him wish he wasn't the one who had to be in this moment. The moment when she realizes all the lies that have been purposefully kept from her. "You have to believe that if I had any say about this, I would've told you." She narrowed her eyes at him in a look he could only describe as betrayal. "This is beyond fucked up and given the choice I would've—"he shook his head, taking a step toward her, only for her to back away. "I would've told you, you have to believe that." He was honestly telling the truth. The moment he found out about this he was adamant about letting his opinion known. He absolutely thought keeping this secret was just morally wrong, but he was a good soldier. Said yes sir, and no sir and followed his orders and now, now he would be forced to witness the repercussions of his inability to finally stand up for what he believed. She only looked at him for a moment before looking over to her-to them once again before turning and walking over to chair that sat in the corner of the room. She didn't say it out loud but she was afraid that if she didn't sit, she'd pass out. The room was silent, everyone waiting for her to say something.

"SHIELD?" she asked her eyes looking over to Mason. He let out a sigh and simply nodded.

"Yeah." he replied and he watched as she buried her face in her hands and then something happened that he didn't expect. She started laughing. Given the situation, laughter was definitely the last thing he thought would happen. But there she was sitting, her body shaking with laughter as she allowed herself to look at each of their faces.

"I'm sorry, I'm just processing the fact that I was told that my mother, who apparently is standing right there—" she pointed to Cynthia who like the other remained silent figuring she would probably process thing better on her own at the moment. "— died after giving birth to me, that fifteen years later a crazy man came into our house and shot my father in the head right in front of my eyes, and—" she met Martin's eyes suddenly seeing that moment when the bullet pierced into his forehead. She grit her teeth as she felt the need to cry in that moment, but instead she kept laughing hoping to trick her mind into finding amusement in the whole thing. it was frivolous, but she did it anyway. "I never knew of anyone to live through a bullet to the brain."

"It was a trick. Even back then, the technology was advanced." Martin said and Katie's eyes widen for a moment before turning away from him. "Trust me darlin' if I could go back and do things differently—"

"Stop talking!" she snapped and he was stunned for a moment. He had no delusion about this reunion, he knew it wouldn't be all candy canes and gumdrops, but he thought that if she saw them, saw him that his little girl would still be in there somewhere.

"Worm?"

"I said stop talking!" she snapped turning a darkened glare to him. "I thought—I thought I was free of the SHIELD's big brother act a long time ago, but it turns out I'm not. Even when SHIELD is dead." she chuckled with a shake of her head. "But nobody stays dead, do they?" Katie couldn't take this room any longer and so she stood to her feet and headed for the front door.

"I know I didn't teach you to run!" Martin's voice yelled and she stopped only out of pure habit. It was the familiar authoritative tone that ordered her around as a child that he somehow held onto this whole time. "You may be be confused and you maybe upset, but you do not run." she swallowed the lump in her throat as that need to cry hit her once again, but she refused to shed a tear. "I am your father and she is your mother, and we are right here, right now." At that statement Katie turned to him with a look he couldn't quite decipher. "You have questions and we will answer them for you."

"Why?" she asked and he didn't quite understand. "I don't have any questions, I think in this moment everything is clear." she glanced over to Cynthia whose eyes remained curved in a look of sadness and guilt. "My parents are dead." the words stung them in a way neither could explain, but they didn't blame her, they couldn't blame her. "Wanna know how I know my parents are dead?" she began walking over to where Cynthia and Martin stood, neither knowing what to expect. "Because my mother wouldn't fake her death and voluntarily tear herself from my life." Katie's eyes turned to Cynthia who couldn't seem to stop the tears from falling from her eyes. "My father told me my mother loved me more than anything and I can't see someone who loved me not letting me grow up with a mother. And my father—" she turned to Martin with a wide smile. "You know how I know that son of bitch is dead, because that man never left me. That man who I adored, who I practically worshiped knew where I was every second of everyday because he loved me that much. He wouldn't—" she shook her head as it happened again. The image of Adam Lumen holding the smoking gun that had just shot her father in the head, hit her again. "My father wouldn't make me watch him die." she met Martin's eyes, which many had said she shared with the man. She couldn't take another second of the look, that look she didn't expect and so she turned about to leave, but his hand shot out and grabbed her arm. Pure instinct took over in that moment, so when his hand wrapped around her arm she whirled around grabbing his wrist with her free hand before twisting it, making him turn around as she pushes his arm behind his back and slams his face in a nearby wall. She knew he was stronger than her, that at any moment he could escape this position, but he didn't. "My father died and I killed a man. I took a life—I took my first life, because someone took my entire world away from me. My father, my—my daddy would not do that to me. My daddy died and the day that he did, so did his daughter." she pushed his arm further in his back, and he let grunt in reply. "So mister, you do not touch me like you're my father. You do not—" she didn't expect a sharp pain to shoot through her abdomen in that moment. She let go of his arm, bringing both of her arms around her belly letting out a slight hiss in pain.

"Katie!" Mason nearly runs to her side, but the moment he tries to even touch her, she pushes him away.

"Do not come near me!" she snaps before turning and rushing out of the room. He wants to go after her, but he's afraid he'll upset her even more. They hear a door slam from somewhere in the house before they all share a look.

"Is this what you wanted?!" Mason snapped looking between the two, but neither said anything. "She needs a doctor." He turns his eyes to Martin who shakes his head slightly. "If something happens to her or that baby, you better believe SHIELD on your ass will be the least of your troubles." Martin turns and walks over to a drawer and pulls it open. He picks up a cell phone and then a gun. He hands the phone to Mason before aiming the gun.

"Trust me when I say that I will not even think twice about shooting you, you annoying bastard. Call the doctor, tell him to come alone and not to tell anyone where he's going." Martin ordered. Mason sent the man a glare before looking down to his phone and calling the only doctor he knew he could trust.

Tony Stark was a man in a hurry. There was no time for small talk, or plan of attacks. His kitten was in danger and that's all he cared about. He stepped off the elevator, heading toward the parking garage.

"JARVIS, I want you to hack into the city's stop light cameras searching for even a glimpse at Katie." Tony ordered when the door to the garage opened and in walked Pepper and her mother.

"Oh, Tony there you are. We were just coming to see you!" Pepper said smiling brightly as she wrapped her hand around Tony's neck to place a kiss to his lips. He barely reciprocated the kiss and she frowned slightly as she pulled away. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine." Tony said with a obvious fake smile that he shot over to the Mrs. Potts as well. "I just have to leave for a couple of hours and then—"

"Leave?" Vivian Potts, mother of one Virginia Potts questioned staring back to her future son in law. Tony wasn't quite fond of the woman, she was extremely pushy and completely too involved in their relationship. So at the moment he was surprised at her inclusion in their conversation, he actually expected. But given the very extreme circumstance he was gonna have to work extra hard not to bite this woman's head off. "But we're meeting with the Reverend today to finalized the details of the wedding.

"I can't do that now."

"But we've already rescheduled." Pepper said taking a step back to look to the man. "Tony, if we reschedule again, he'll drop us from the wedding and we can't afford that to happen. The wedding is too close-"

"Pepper, I understand that, but right now there are more pressing matters at hand!" Tony snapped unintentionally. "I'm sorry, I just have to leave." Pepper looked at him for a moment before dropping her head.

"Why do I get the feeling this has something to do with Katie." Pepper sighed and Tony just shook his head. Even after all this time, those lingering jealous feelings never seemed to go away despite how many times he tried to reassure her.

"Anthony you can't be serious!" Vivian snapped on the behalf of her daughter. "Look from what I hear of your relationship with this woman is beyond inappropriate, and right now choosing her over your fiance is just not happening." Tony bit his tongue, because he knew that if he didn't he'd really let this woman have all the expletives roaming around his head at the moment. He turned back to Pepper, whose look seemed to mirror that of her mother's and it kind of freaked him out for a moment.

"Pepper—"

"Tony is Katie dying? Right now is there a gun to her head and her only chance of survival is you rushing out of here to save her?" Pepper asked and Tony just let out a sigh. "That's the only, and I mean only way you can leave here and our engagement doesn't end." he gaped at her with wide eyes. She'd been angry with him before, yelled at him, hell she's hit him a couple of time, but she's never threatened to call of the wedding.

"Sir, Agent Romanoff and Barton have returned to the tower." JARVIS spoke breaking the brutally quiet silence.

"Tell them I'll meet them in the lab." Tony replied not breaking the stare he had with Pepper, whose eyes remained on his as well. He took a step toward her, closing the short distance between them. "You think I'm choosing her over you. That I always choose her over you, but there is never a choice between anything or anyone and you. I just wish you would understand that I will always choose you. Right now my friend could be in danger and I would like to make sure she isn't being held captive by crazy people who would torture her for information she doesn't know. I need you to understand why I'm going to walk away right now and hope that the next time we see each other, you will still want to be my wife." Tony leaned in placing the softest kiss to her lips before turning and stalking off toward the elevator. Once he was gone, Pepper felt her mother's eyes on her, but she couldn't turn to them knowing they filled with her mother's judgement.

"I think you and I are going to have to discuss how we are going to deal with this woman." Vivian said and Pepper looked at her in confusion.

Tony was on the elevator trying to stay focused, when he realized the elevator was moving in the opposite direction he wanted it to go.

"JARVIS, why am I not going down to the lab?" Tony asked seeing the numbers increasing.

"Your presence is being requested in the lobby." JARVIS informed and before Tony could even ask any more questions, the doors to the lobby were opening and he was hit with the sight of Clint and Natasha with guns held firmly in their hands while surrounded by men wearing black tactical gear, guns aimed right back at them.

"Ok!" Tony yelled his voice echoing throughout the lobby. "I'm not sure what the hell is happening, but I know I don't have the time or the patience for it!"

"Well Mr. Stark—"a voice spoke and Tony had to search for it's source and soon a familiar face was walking toward him. "I think you should make the time."

"Agent Jackson." Tony said with a pointed finger. "You know I have an assistant who was is supposed to be getting rid of you right now." he lifted his head. "JARVIS call Matthew!"

"I'm not here for you Mr. Stark and in complete honesty I'm not here for them either" Jack said pointing a thumb back at Natasha and Clint. "I came here for one person."

"And who might that be?" Tony asked.

"Katherine Banks." Jack replied and to his surprise Tony smile. "It wasn't a joke."

"It will be when I give you the punch line." Tony countered before looking over to Clint and Natasha who were in full agent mode ready shoot at any moment. "If I were you I would tell your men to drop their weapons. They may look harmless, but don't let their looks fool you." Jack simply waved a hand and his team dropped their guns and in response so did Clint and Natasha. The moment they did, Clint didn't waste any time walking over to Tony, ignoring the look from the agent.

"Tell me you got something Tony." Clint said and Tony shook his head.

"I already have JARVIS scouring cameras all over the city, if her face even pops up on one we'll know." Tony replied and Clint shook his head in frustration. It wasn't enough.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to interrupt, but I'm on tight schedule, so if you wouldn't mind calling Ms. Banks—"

"Her name is Barton!" Clint snapped turning to the man. "And she's not here right now. So if you want her, why don't you send out every man you have out there to find her!" Jack looked at the man in confusion, but the seriousness in Clint's eyes seemed to let him know that he was telling the truth. Jack shook his head before turning and heading for the door, his team following behind him.

"Yeah, we're moving." the heard Jack speak. "Change of plans." it was the last words they heard the man speak before he stepped out the front doors.

"Ok, why does the CIA want Kitten?" Tony asked looking between Clint and Natasha.

"I don't give a shit." Clint snapped angrily. They were worrying about the wrong thing. "We need to find my wife before HYDRA does if they haven't already." just as the words came out of his mouth the elevator dinged and out rushed Dr. Franklin Allen, carrying multiple bags in his hand. He rushed past them, not even glancing in their direction as he headed for the door.

"Franklin!" Tony called after the doctor, but didn't stop. Clint turned and almost ran after the man, grabbing the back of his jacket forcing him to a stop and causing him to drop one of his bags. They all walked over, looking down to see medical supplies falling out of his bag. "Either you're stealing from me or—" Tony didn't finish the sentence before Clint had grabbed Franklin by the jacket and was already slamming him against the wall. "Ok, I guess we're going straight to violence part now."

"Where the hell is she?!" Clint snapped and to his surprise, Franklin lifted his arms before dropping his elbows into Clint's arms hard, causing the man to release his grasp. Clint went to tackle the man, but Franklin just as quickly rolled out of his grasp. They all turned to him as he tried picking the items from the bag up all of them kind of surprised at the doctor's skills.

"You got questions fine!" he snapped as he stuffed the supplies back into his bag before standing to his feet. "But they are going to have to wait. You want to know where your wife is, then follow me." Once he gathered his things he headed for the door, stopping as he was about to leave and turned. "Look I was told to come alone and if I didn't they would hurt her. So I'm guessing, I could probably get away with bringing one of you, but not the whole team of Avengers."

"Fine, then I'm going." Clint said before turning to Natasha. "Call him." he said referring to Coulson. "Tell him what's going on and track my phone. If this is leading to where I think it is leading then he's going to want to be ready." Clint looked over to Tony and sighed. "I know you're going to argue this, but I'm going to need you and the others to fall back-"

"Fall back, are you kidding me?" Tony asked. "You're not here this whole time and then you show up and start making orders."

"Tony!"

"You can yell, and scream all you want." Tony said looking between him and Natasha. "If you two are hiding something, then I'm afraid we're all about to be in the know." he lifted his head. "JARVIS, I want you to track Agent Barton's phone!" Tony turned and stalked away.

"Look, I'll take care of Tony, you two go." Natasha said and Clint nodded before he and Franklin rushed out of the towers.

_Katie stood outside of her school waiting for her father which rarely if ever happened. Everyday since she was in kindergarten, when she walked out of the school he was right there waiting for her. Today though, it was going on thirty minutes and he still wasn't there. There were a group of students headed toward the bus stop and so she decided to follow after them. She never took the bus, especially not the city bus. Her father would never hear of it. Even after she went through the trouble of printing out bus schedules and promising up and down to be careful._

_As she sat on the bus, she couldn't help slight paranoia that surrounded her as she sat among strangers. It was the first time she actually began giving thought to the fears of her father. Once the bus arrived at her stop she quickly stepped off and almost ran to her house. She pushed opened the door, taking off her jacket and hanging it on the coat rack._

" _Dad, I'm home!" she called not seeing him right away. If he wasn't there to pick her up, then he should here. "Dad?" She looked to the stairs and began walking up wondering if made he was in his office._

"Ok," Katie said as she stood in the bathroom, her hands gripping either side of the sink. "You have to calm down." she inhaled and then exhaled. The pain that she felt before was unexpected, but was gone just as fast as it came. But it scared her. She began rubbing her hand over her belly, taking deep breaths to try to calm herself. There was a sudden knock on the door and she rolled her eyes. "Go away." her voice wasn't nearly as strong as she wanted it to be.

"Worm, look I'm sorry, but I called Franklin and he's on his way." Mason said from the other side of the door. Katie turned and pulled open the door.

"You didn't have to do that, because I'm leaving." she said before pushing past him. The moment she did, they heard the sound of a door being burst open. Mason quickly grabbed Katie's arm and pulled her behind.

"I should've known this was going to happen." Mason whispered reaching for his gun only to remember that Martin had taken it from him. "Shit!" he looked over to Katie and just placed a finger to his lips for her to keep quiet.

Back in the living room, Cynthia stood behind her husband who had both hands gripped his nine millimeter as he stared down the barrel of the gun of the intruder.

"Martin?" Cynthia whispered from behind him, but Martin didn't say a word, keeping his eyes on the two men in front of them. "Martin!" she urged tugging on his shirt.

"Cynthia, not now." Martin replied trying his best to stay in full agent mode.

"Yes, now Martin." Cynthia said, her eyes going to the men. "It's him." she smiled slightly. "Her agent." Martin quirked an eyebrow as he looked at the man holding the gun, before he realized that Cynthia was right. "You're Agent Barton." Clint didn't take his eyes off of the man holding the gun. "We're—"

"I know who you are." Clint said coldly. "Where's my wife."

"She—"

"You're not suppose to be here." Martin said cutting off his wife. Clint's eyes narrowed as he stared at the man, the hands on his gun gripping even tighter. "The doctor was supposed to come alone."

"I'm sorry, but you take my wife to the middle of nowhere against her will and I get involved." Clint said. "But don't worry. Coulson and a team should be here soon to put you back in your carefully hidden hole."

"You didn't—" Cynthia says with a shake of her head. Fury kept them up to date on everything concerning their daughter, including the man who had claimed her heart. From what they were told and from pictures they had seen, Agent Clint Barton was a good man, an honest man who loved their daughter. "You didn't know. You wouldn't keep us from her."

"Because of you, people are hunting my wife to find out what you know." Clint almost growled. "Keeping her from you has been my main priority." he turned to Martin. "I can't believe you were stupid enough to even think this was a good idea, your training—"

"My training did not include breaking up a family I would die for!" Martin snapped angrily dropping the gun to his side. "My training did not include hurting my daughter the way—" Martin shook his head as his wife's hand came to rest on his arm. "This was not tactical, this wasn't strategically planned and hell maybe it doesn't make sense, but sometimes the things you do for family is just that. It may be nonsense, but it's right." They heard the sound on high heeled feet and turned toward the front door as Natasha walked in. She walked over standing beside Clint, glaring over to the couple.

"This has been fun, but now it's time to go home kids." She said looking between the two.

"We're not going anywhere with you." Martin replied lifting his gun once again.

"I beg to differ." Natasha replied ignoring the gun in her face.

"No, he's right!" a new voice called and they all turned as Katie and Mason walked into the room. She stalked over, placing herself between Clint's gun and her father. "They're not going anywhere with you."

"Kat—" Clint said quickly dropping his gun to his side and moving toward her, only for her to back away. "I can explain."

"No you can lie. You can lie really well too." she said with a shake of her head. "All this time you knew. You knew and you said nothing!"

"Kat—"

"No!" she said and the look in her eyes nearly broke him in half. He never wanted to see that look in her eyes. The look of distrust and betrayal. It was etched across her face as she looked at him and he could barely stand it.

"Kat, please. You have to listen to me, because this isn't how it looks." Clint said before taking another step toward her. He needed to touch her, to reassure her that whatever scenarios she had playing in her head about what was happening wasn't true. Everything he did, he did for her and their baby. _Everything._

"It kind of is." Katie said her eyes going to Natasha. "My life. My life is a movie and everybody seems to have an idea of where it should go, but nobody ever asks for my input." she looked over to the faces of her parents, finally realizing, no finally accepting that they were actually here. "Right now, I am in control of my life." she turned back to her husband and shook her head. "No one is calling the shots, but me." She reached over and took the gun from Martin's hand and pointed it to the person she felt was the biggest threat in the room. Natasha stared down the barrel of the gun, barely batting an eye.

"SHIELD is not going to push them back under the bed." Katie said angrily. "You are not taking them back."

"Do you understand what them being here does?" Natasha asked keeping her eyes on Katie. "How exposed they are?" she turned her eyes to Cynthia. "You just had to trap the mother load of secrets in that head of yours and now keeping you from the bad guys is our goal here." she turned back to Katie. "So I'm sorry, but yes I am taking them with me." Natasha took a bold step toward Katie, letting the gun in her hand touch her chest. She was testing her and in Katie's current state of mind, it was definitely not a smart move. "So are you gonna shoot me?"

"You think I won't?" Katie asked angrily.

"Kat, you need to think about this!" Clint yelled and Katie shook her head. "SHIELD is not the bad guy here!"

"Didn't we debunk that whole show and dance when we found a terrorist organization using SHIELD as a Halloween mask for all these years?" Katie asked and Clint sighed. "I had hope that Agent Barton truly was gone. Not that he was bad guy but he was blind."she bit her bottom lip as she felt tears threatening to fall, but she wouldn't let them. "He never could distinguish what was right and what was wrong when it came to the know SHIELD."

"Your safety and the safety of that baby—"

"Does not justify manipulation and lying!" Katie snapped. "You were suppose to have a good reason for the lies, one that I would understand and this—" she looked around the room to the people who had all lied to her, who all kept something big from her. "This I don't understand. My whole life I felt alone, thought I had no one and now I know that it was done on purpose."

"Darlin'—" she shot a sideways glance to her father who took the look as a signal for him to stop talking. Katie turned back to Natasha with a look so serious that even Natasha's brow furrowed slightly in confusion.

"Now I think it's time I accept the truth. I work better alone. Alone, people can't lie to me, they can't hurt me, and they can't disappoint me." Katie said glancing over to Clint whose eyes seemed to be pleading with her. She was conflicted. She didn't want to hear anything out of his mouth, but a part of her. A very small part of her wanted him to prove her wrong. She looked into the green eyes of Natasha Romanoff with an obvious look of defiance. "They're not going with you. So they can either walk past you or they can walk over you. Your choice."

"Katie, do not test me." Natasha almost growled taking a step forward, the gun now pressing against her chest. "I do not take well to empty threats and I am trained to disarm a person without harming them. They're coming with me back to their hole where they will be until the threat against them is eliminated." Katie stared at the woman for a long moment before sighing and lowering the gun slowly. Natasha rolled her eyes as expecting the movement. She shook her head before taking a step and what happened next no one expected. A gun shot rang and everyone froze as Natasha collapse to the floor, a new bullet hole in her thigh. She yelped slightly, but that was the only sign of her pain. She sat pressing her palm to the wound, gritting her teeth as she glared up to Katie. There was a movement behind her and without a second thought she turned her gun now aimed at Rick Mason.

"Are you crazy!" Mason yelled as he looked down with concern to Natasha. "Like seriously, are you crazy?!" Katie ignored him as she turned to Marin and Cynthia.

"Now is when you disappear." Katie said and they stood there slightly shell shocked at the sight of their daughter with the gun in her hand. She could see the mixture of emotions behind their eyes and she would laugh if she wasn't standing in the middle of the most fucked up moment of her life. "You want to live on your own terms, then go and disappear." Cynthia placed a hand on Martin's forearm, but the man didn't move. "Go!" the man shook his head and Katie wanted to cry in that moment because she didn't want him to fight her on this. She wanted them to walk away, to justify her hating them.

"Martin." Cynthia whispered to her husband. She wanted to stay, to fight for the one person in this world that meant everything to them. But nothing would happen now that wouldn't just upset her more. Katie was going to need time and space and they needed to place as much distance between them and SHIELD as possible. "We need to go." Martin glanced over to her with a look of disbelief before turning back to his daughter and walking over. She took a slight step back , obviously not expecting this. He reached out placing his hand on top of hers, the one gripping the gun.

"You are not alone. I have never left you and this gun in your hand proves that." Martin says and Katie turns away from him. "I know you hate me right now darlin, but I have faith one day—"

"Just stop talking. You left a long time ago and can't undo it. Neither one of you can." she spoke coldly dropping the gun to her side. "Go now." the look in her eyes wasn't the look of his baby girl. It was a look of someone else. Someone he didn't recognize. That's when he realized that this woman staring back at him with his eyes was here because once upon a time he thought he wasn't strong enough to protect her. He thought that she would be better off without him and now...now he was realizing just how wrong he was.

"I will fix this, I promise." Martin said before turning to Cynthia who turned to her daughter once more.

"I am _your_ mother." the woman stated as Katie ignored her gaze. "I carried you inside of me for nine months. I felt every kick, every movement. You were apart of me and no matter how much you wish it wasn't true, we are apart of you. Not seeing us won't change that and we won't disappear. Not again. You will see us again and I promise you that." Martin took her hand, glancing over to Katie once more before they both rushed out the back door.

Katie, Clint, and Mason stood in silence while Natasha sat gripping the wound in her leg. If it were anyone and she meant anyone other than the pregnant wife of her partner, shot or not Katie would be laid flat and that she believed one hundred percent. But because she was the pregnant wife of her partner and to some extent in a very miniscule way her friend, Natasha chose to force her mouth closed. And also, because she had to admit that if the situation were turned around, she'd probably do the same thing.

"I'm done." Katie said breaking the silence. They were just two words but they said so much. She looked at the gun in her hand before stripping it and letting it's pieces fall to the floor. Clint stood closet to the door and she just knew he wouldn't just let her go. Her theory was proven when she took a step and her moved to block her.

"I'm not letting you leave. I'm not letting you run from me, from us over something so—" he shook his head not wanting to think about it. Right now, this moment mattered. This moment was his last chance to convince her that he was on her side. "I love you." Katie dropped her head at his words and just shook her head.

"And I love you." she said as she lifted her head, the tears she'd been willing to fall now flowing freely down her cheeks. "But right now, right now I don’t like you very much. Clint Barton and I don't want to be around you. So just—" she shook her head and just moved around him, rushing out the front door.

"I should—" Franklin said for the first time since coming inside of the house. He felt like the outsider of the bunch and thought he should probably say as little words as possible. "I should probably go with her." he didn't wait for any affirmations, because he knew no one would stop him. He was only here to make sure she was alright and at the moment he had the feeling he was going to be needed. Franklin simply nodded before walking toward the door only to stop as the sight of something happening outside nearly shocked him still. "Guys!" Clint turned confused before walking over. Mason walked over and helped Natasha to her feet as they hobbled over to door where they all stood frozen as the looked down to the full on SWAT team standing surrounding Katie, their guns aimed right at her.

Someone in her position might be frightened, confused, but Katie...Katie was pissed off.

"Who’s in charge!" she yelled and soon Special Agent David Jackson appeared, his CIA wind breaker blowing in the wind.

"Hello, I'm—"

"Special Agent David Jackson, Senior Agent with the CIA." Katie stated not wanting to waste anymore time. She held her wrists up in front of her. "We're all introduced, so how about we get this show on the road." The man simply nodded before snagging the metal cuffs from his pocket.

* * *


	33. Chapter 33

_It was still warm. The blood that was splattered on her face, it was still warm. Katie sat with her knees to her chest staring down to the bodies that laid before her. One belonging to her father and the other to his murderer. It was strange that in this moment her mind wandered to this morning, to the few seconds before her eyes opened and how it seemed to predict this moment. How her gut seemed to tell her something was wrong when she stepped out of school and didn't see him._

_She scrubbed the floor. He made her scrub the floor on her hands and knees and she was supposed to learn something. Now...now she'll never know what that lesson was. Her fingers gripped her knees as she stared down to her father wondering what she was suppose to do. In this moment. In life. She looked over to the dead body beside her father and knew that this moment would be twisted and turned, the truth never seeming quite believable. Katie released the hold she held on her knees and pushed forward, carefully reaching in her father's pocket and pulling out the familiar silver zippo the man always carried. He didn't smoke or at least she'd never seen him smoke. She always wondered why he carried the damn thing. Now, now it didn't matter because this little fire starter was the solution to all of her troubles._

Katie opened her eyes to see she was still in the room, staring over to a two way mirror. They had arrested her, tossed her in a room and then only brought her out the next morning. She wished she could say that this was new to her. That this was the first time she'd been sitting at a table, hand cuffed wrist resting in front of her. She didn't turn when the door opened. The foot steps neared until Agent David Jackson, Jack as he seemed to be called, appeared in front of her, a manilla folder in one hand and a glass of water in the other. He placed both on the table, sliding only the glass over to her. She looked down to the glass in distaste before looking back over to him.

"You've been here for a while, I know you're thirsty and I know you're hungry." Jack said folding his arms over his chest. "I also know you're pregnant, so you can play the tough chick act or you can take care of your baby." Katie glared at him for a moment before begrudgingly taking the glass and drinking the water. She emptied the glass proving to both of them that she really was thirsty.

"Good, maybe now you'll take that sandwich I offered." he said before twirling a finger signaling someone not in the room. Katie lifted her head to the camera that hung in the corner of the room, the blinking red light letting her know that this was being recorded. Jack followed her eyes. "It's only protocol."

"I'm aware."

"We I guess you would be." Jack said and Katie brought her eyes back to his. "You know I've read your file backwards and forward and I'm kind of surprised you haven't been thrown in a very dark prison by now." He flipped open the folder. " I mean there's cyber fraud, computer hacking, and a few more pages that I doubt you're interested in. Nothing ever stuck though. But then again there was never any solid evidence to pin you to anything." he chuckled as she shuffled through papers. "Someone computer smart like you probably got rid of the evidence." he glanced up to her, noting the never changing bored expression on her face. "Do you know why you're here, Ms. Banks?"

"Slow week here at the CIA, I guess." Katie said with a shrug. " I mean there are more pressing matters happening in the world, but for some reason you find me a threat."

"I do." Jack said seriously as he folded his hands over the table and leaned in slightly closer. "You look innocent, rich friends and all, but I know the truth. I know how much of threat you truly are."

"That's funny." Katie said with a smirk as she folded her hands over the table, leaning in as well showing she wasn't intimidated by him. "I don't even know how much of a threat I am."

"I highly doubt that, but we're not here to discuss how big of a threat you are." Jack replied before pulling out on of the sheets of paper and sliding it over to Katie. "This was one of the correspondents picked up today. It's in German, so I'm not sure if you can read it—"

"My German's fine, thank you." Katie said lifting up the sheet of paper, the chain on her cuff rattling as she did. Jack watched as she read the paper, her eyes narrowing ever so often. "Who is Ophelia Sarkissian?" Katie asked glancing back up to the man who seemed to chuckle. "Something funny?"

"No, it's just we've finally come to a moment where you don't know everything." Jack said with a slight shake of his head. "Ophelia Sarkissian is a myth or at least I like to think so. According to our records it's impossible for this woman to even be alive. Records of an Ophelia Sarkissian go as far back as 1925."

"So you're asking me questions about an old lady?" Katie asked and Jack sighed before flipping through his folder before pulling out a pixelated picture and sliding it over to Katie.

"That picture was taken three days ago." Jack said as Katie held up the picture. "It's a little distorted."

"No, it's a lot distorted." Katie said squinting her eyes at the image of what looked like a woman. She was thin, young with dark hair, but that was pretty much all she could tell. "You know for such an advanced agency, the CIA could really use a technological boost." she looked back up to the agent before dropping the photograph on the table. "You guys should think about getting into bed with SI, could do wonders for your spying."

"I'll be sure to pass it along." Jack said watching the woman with a tilted head. He wasn't sure why he was expecting a normal reaction from her. He should've known that the woman wouldn't start crying and begging for his help.

"Is there anything else?" Katie asked breaking his silent staring.

"Sarkissian is linked to terror groups in Russia, Germany and a hell of a lot of other places. She's a big fish kind of lady which is why I'm wondering why she's asking about you."

"You and me both." Katie said glancing down to the photo.

"Tell me what you know." The man ordered angrily feeling his patience with the woman running thin. "Right now."

"You want me to talk, that's fine and dandy, I'll sing with the birds, but not to you." Katie said sitting back in her seat before looking up to the two way mirror. "There's another agent I would like to talk to." the agent quirked a brow. "I believe he goes by Black." Jack eyes widened for a moment before turning to the mirror as well and simply shrugged before standing to his feet.

"If this is a game, you should know I always play to I win." Jack said before stalking out the door. Katie sat there, letting her fingers tap on top of the table, not even looking up when the door opened again. She just looked up to the chair that sat in front of her until the face of her brother appeared.

"Hello Agent Black." Katie said Matthew simply stared back at his sister, with a look of confusion etched into his face. "What, you didn't think I knew?"

"Rinny—"

"No!" she snapped angrily slapping the table. "You've had this whole time to come out and tell the truth, but you chose to hide this from me." she shook her head. "And I know I'm a hypocrite, because I hid everything from you, but I—" she pointed a finger to him. "I finally ran to you and let you in and now I know that I wouldn't get the same courtesy."

"I didn't say anything because there was nothing to say." Matthew said and Katie scoffed before standing to her feet. "I was out. I quit after a mission went bad and I was going to be Mr. Norm, but do you know what happened?" he lifted the paper from the correspondent. "Your name started coming up in the mouths of terrorists and I was given an ultimatum. I sit back knowing that at any moment you could fall into a shit load of trouble, or I get on the train and try to stop this before it could hurt you."

"You were trying to protect me." she said glancing over to him. It seemed to be the go to excuse for the people in her life who lied to her. She walked over, placing her palms on top of the table looking down to her brother.

"Of course I was trying to protect you Rinny!" Matthew snapped standing to his feet. "In this life I have no one but you and I will do whatever—" he sighed leaning across the table so she could see the seriousness in his eyes. "I would do whatever it takes to make sure you're safe." Katie looked at him for a moment before placing her hand on the side of his cheek.

"I am never safe." she said suddenly. "Something or someone is always after me. Trying to protect me from this is a waste of time." she took a step back, turning away from him. "I thought I could have the normal, thought that I could pretend that I'm not the screwed up girl, with the screwed up parents and the screwed up life." she looked back over to her brother. "You can only pretend for so long before the truth blows up in your face. And I think this is that moment." Matthew walked around the table, moving closer, but she backed away from him.

"Don't do this. Don't start pushing me away." Matthew said noticing the look in her eyes. It was the same look he saw many years ago when she showed up in his dorm room to tell him that he wouldn't see her anymore. "We just-" the lights flickered above them and Matthew stopped as their eyes lifted the light above them. "That's never happened." Katie let out a snort and Matthew brought his eyes back to her. "What?"

"No, it's just SHIELD was one of the most secure government facilities in the world and part of that was because of me and it was still corrupted by HYDRA." Katie spoke walking over to take her seat. "I know for a fact the CIA isn't as secure." Matthew looked over to her as she folded her hands over the table. "I hope your agency has a procedure in place for being compromised." the lights flickered once again, and Matthew got the feeling his sister was right. Matthew didn't say anything before he stalked toward the door, only to stop before leaving. He turned back to his sister and walked back over to her, reaching into his pocket until he pulled out a ring of keys.

"They were supposed to take these off." Matthew said before reaching over and unlocking the cuffs on her wrists. "You're not a prisoner Rinny, we just have questions that we think you most likely have answers to."

"We." Katie said as she watched her brother unlocking the cuffs. Once he was done, Matthew lifted his eyes to meet his sister who simply shook her head.

"How did you know?"

"I told you that it would freak you out how close I'd been keeping tabs on you." Katie said sitting back and folding her arms over her chest. "This whole time I was just waiting for the moment that you would finally tell me the truth, but—"

"Rinny,” the lights flickered and Matthew lifted his head once again.

"You should go check on that Agent Black." Katie said and he dropped his eyes back to her with a look slight sadness. She was upset, even if she wouldn't say it, he could see it in her eyes. He stood up straight and turned walking out the door. Once outside the door, he found Jack and Calder standing waiting for him.

"You're usually better at interrogating." Calder said and Matthew sent her a glare before turning to Jack.

"Your sole purpose here is to get the answers she won't give to anyone else. I could lose my badge if anyone even finds out that you're even minimally close to this. So tell me what the hell happened in there?" Jack asked angrily.

"You arrested my sister and thought she would just talk." Matthew countered with a shake of her head.

"No, I arrested your sister and thought she would talk to you, so again I ask, what happened?"

"What happened was she asked for Agent Black and not her brother. She doesn't trust Black and she won't talk to him and at this point I doubt she would even talk to Matthew." Matthew said before turning and stalking off to the agent at the end of the hall. "I want someone posted in front of that door at all times, no one gets in there without being approved by me or Agent Jackson, do you understand?"

"Yes Sir." the agent said with a nod before pressing a hand to his ear piece.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jack asked and Matthew turned to him. "You don't order my agents to do anything." the lights above them once again flickered and they all lifted their eyes to the light fixture. "What the hell was that?"

"That's our new problem." Matthew said before looking to Candace. "Get to security, make sure our systems are working properly." Calder stood there for a second before turning to her actual boss who looked at Matthew before turning to her and nodding. Once she was gone, Jack looked over to Matthew.

"Why do I get the feeling that bringing your sister here is going to bring me more trouble than I already have?" Jack asked and Matthew shrugged.

"Maybe because it is. You should probably head downstairs and talk to the team of super heroes who want to kill you for taking their friend." Matthew said before turning and stalking down the hall.

"Where are you going!"

"To find a gun!" Matthew called not bothering to stop or turn. "Maybe even two!"

When Jack arrived on his floor, he expected to be immediately attacked, but the moment the doors slid open, nothing. He walked on his floor, which looked as it did everyday. He began walking toward his door, when his assistant stood to her feet.

"Agent Jackson, you have a visitor." the woman said a look of slight worry on her face. "She doesn't have an appointment, but—" the woman cleared her throat with a shake of her head. "She said you wouldn't mind."

"Thank you Mel." Jack said before turning and walking through the door. The moment he did, he spotted the dark haired woman looking up to wall of pictures and awards.

"You've been doing this a long time." the woman said not even looking over to him.

"Forty five years." Jack replied as he walked over to take a seat behind his desk. "It's been a long time Hill."

"Not long enough Jack." Maria said finally turning to face the man. "You're lucky."

"How so?"

"Well because I could be six angry people, one of which turns into a giant green monster." Maria said walking over to sit in front of his desk. "It took a lot of convincing to get them to let me come here instead of them."

"I guess I should thank you then." Jack said sitting back in his chair. "But I'm just going to tell you what I would've told those six angry people, and even the one who turns into a giant green monster."

"And what is that?"

"Katherine Banks," he smiled and turned briefly. "I'm sorry, Katherine Barton is apart of an ongoing investigation in connections to terror organizations that our agency believes maybe planning an attack on American soil. Once we know what Mrs. Barton knows we will gladly release her." Maria didn't say anything, but she did release a long sigh as she crossed her legs. "Was there anything else you needed Ms. Hill?"

"Yes, just one more thing." Maria said. "As of—" she looked down to her watch before dropping her had back to her lap. "Well more realistically, for the past couple of decades or so an organization called HYDRA infiltrated numerous American government agencies. SHIELD, FBI, NSA and wait for it—" she smiled as she gestured to him. "The CIA." Jack simply shook his head. "Mostly sleeper cells who look like you, talk like you. They're trained to be just like you until they are ordered to complete a mission. Right now you're holding a person of interest to them."

"Hill—" the woman shot up a hand to stop him.

"I let you talk Jack, right now you're going to shut the hell up and listen." the woman countered and the man took from the look in her eyes that maybe he should listen. The lights flickered above them, but only Jack glanced up. "That was another attempt to hack your security system, which I figure will be executed soon." Jack brought his eyes to the woman. "Jack you've been a Senior Agent around here for a while and you know that you have to do something pretty stupid to lose your shield. Letting an organization like HYDRA walk out of here with a very important asset would be considered pretty stupid. Be smart Jack and hand her over."

"I'm sorry Hill, but I was never one to get scared of ghost stories." Jack replied standing to his feet. "You will get Mrs. Barton back when I'm done with her and only when I'm done with her." he lifted his hand to the door. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a suspect to interrogate."

"Well—" Maria said standing to her feet, and grabbing her bag. "You can't say I didn't warn you." the woman walked out of the office, and stepped onto the elevator. She gave Jack a curt nod, just as the elevator doors slid closed. The moment they did, she took out her cell phone and hit a single button before bringing it to her ear. "Director."

_"Hill tell me something good." Coulson replied._

"Sorry, being a SI employee isn't as intimidating as being a SHIELD agent. But you were right, they have been compromised. They're targeting the power system first."

_"Makes sense." Coulson replied with a sigh._

"Sir, there is always plan B."

 _"You mean let them tear the CIA apart?"_ Coulson asked and Maria could almost see the look on his face. _"I still have hope that we can get through this day without alienating ourselves from the government."_

"I get the feeling that our guys aren't really too concerned about that right now." Maria replied just as the elevator doors slid open. She walked across the linoleum, her heels clacking with every step closer to the conference room. The moment she walked in, Clint, Tony, Steve, and Bruce stood to their feet, each looking to her for answers. "I'll call you back." she slipped her phone into her purse before looking back up to their expectant faces. "I'm going to need you all to not overreact." Clint growled already knowing what she was going to say. He stormed toward the door, but Maria moved to block him.

"Move out of my way." Clint snapped angrily.

"I get you're angry and you're worried, but—"

"There are no buts Hill!" Clint snapped. "This place is just as compromised, if not more than SHIELD. I have no doubt HYDRA is here and planning something."

"Neither do I, but we have to play this smart." she said glancing over to the others. "Us going up there making demands and knocking things on the floor will not help anything."

"I was thinking more along the lines of blowing shit up." Tony said walking up to stand beside Clint, both glaring at the woman. "You wanted us to try the 'We come in peace' approach and it blew up in your face, now I think it's time we tried things our way."

"Wait, hold on," Steve said walking over to them to play the voice of reason as always. "This is still a government agency who has the exact job that we have. They protect the people, we protect the people, they are not our enemies."

"Anyone who throws my wife in the back of a car against her will and locks her in a room is my enemy." Clint turned back to Maria. "Now move."

"They're right and just because you don't agree with them doesn't make it any less true." Bruce said finally speaking up. "This isn't enemy territory and the people holding her aren't hurting her. They're asking questions, right?"

"Right, but this is the CIA, so I'm guess the way they ask questions is a little different then what one would assume." she turned back to Tony and Clint. "Which is why I have another idea."

"Well this ought to be good." Tony said crossing his arms over his chest.

"We have an inside man." Maria said glancing over to Clint who shook his head. "I trust him."

"Who is this inside man?" Tony asked and Maria didn't say anything. Tony groaned in annoyance when his cell phone rang he snagged it from his pocket. "It's Pepper."

"Take it." Maria said. "I have a feeling this is going to be a long day." Tony let out a sigh before storming out of the room, bringing the phone to his ear.

"Hey honey."

 _"Tony, do you know what today is?"_ Pepper asked bypassing all greetings. He could hear the seriousness in the woman's tone.

"Yeah—" he said clearing his throat. "Of course I know what today is. How could I forget. Today is the day we uh—" he quickly racked his brain hoping it would come to him. "The day we do the thing."

 _"Yeah and that thing is our rehearsal dinner."_ Pepper said and Tony closed his eyes and cursed silently. He did forget. He also had the feeling that trying to get Katie out of this place was probably going to run kind of long.

"Honey—"

 _"No Tony. The rehearsal dinner is tonight. I will be there, our family and friends will be there."_ The woman said. " _You will be there Tony, or there will be no wedding."_ and then the line ended leaving Tony no room to argue or say anything really.

He pulled the phone from his ear and looked down to it when the lights above them flickered once again. This time it wasn't just one flicker, it was flicker after flicker, until the lights went off. An alarm sounded and he turned toward the doors as metal shields slid down covering them.

"What's happening?" Steve said as he and the others walked back out, standing beside Tony as they all looked up to the only light around them. It was a flashing red light and they just knew that wasn't a good thing.

"They're on lock down." Maria said before taking out her cell phone only to see that she had no signal. "They're blocking cell signal into the building." Tony looked down to his phone, to see that she was right.

"Fuck!" Clint said before stalking off toward the front desk where two agents sat just as confused as everyone else. "Hey!" he grabbed one of them by the shirt, and the other quickly went for his gun.

"I wouldn't!" Steve said coming up beside Clint. The agent looked between the men in front of him and just took his seat.

"Katherine Barton was brought in yesterday, where is she?"

"I—I don't know." The agent stammered trying his best to pull from Clint's grip. "We just sit at the desk."

"Probably on fifteen." the other agent said and they all turned to him. "I may have heard Agent Calder say that they were taking a suspect to interrogation on fifteen." Clint releases the man before letting his eyes scan the area. "Stairs are over there." he spots the door the man is pointing before walking over, but he stops when the doors to the elevators suddenly open.

"That's not supposed to happen." one of the agents says as they all stare at the elevator in shock. "Lock down procedure is pretty cut and dry. No one in or out, all elevators disabled."

"Well I guess all procedure goes out the window when you're being hacked and your hackers are the ones in control." Tony says before noticing Clint heading for the elevator. "Maybe it's not a good idea to voluntarily walk into the trap." Clint didn't say anything as he continued walking. "Barton!" Tony began rushing over to try to stop him, but just as he arrived Clint was on the elevator and the doors were closing. "Shit!"

Clint stood on the elevator, unsure of if he should press a button, or not, but when it began moving he realized that he didn't.

"Is this some type of game!" he yelled looking up to the camera that was clearly on. "Because I promise, if you hurt my wife, I will hunt every last one of you down and make you pay." he didn't get a response, which only made him worry more. He indeed ended up on the fifteenth floor, and when the doors slid open he was hit with the sight of total destruction and the smell of gun powder. He stepped off the elevator, his eyes stumbling upon the bodies of agents, the sparks shooting from the lights above, and the smell of blood mingle with the gun powder. His heart was ramming in his chest at this point, because his wife was on this floor. "Kat!" he yelled as he walked. He didn't know where he was going, so he followed the bodies. The last agent was propped up against the wall next to a slightly opened door. Clint took a deep breath before pushing the door open and his eyes widened with what he saw. The room was totally wrecked with a flipped over table and chairs, blood smeared about and bullet holes practically everywhere, but Clint's eyes were drawn to one thing...one person.

"Little brother." Barney said with a smile as he stood leaning against the wall across from Clint. "I knew you would show up sooner or later." and then he laughed. The son of a bitch stood there and chuckled as he stared back at the angry look on Clint's face face.

"I am only going to ask you this once and only once Barney." Clint said taking a step forward before reaching behind him to slam the door closed. "Where is she?" Barney smiled at his brother's attempt to be intimidating before pushing himself from the wall.

"Oh!" Barney said before flipping over one of the chairs and taking a seat. "I thought you knew." his eyes went to Clint who looked as if at any second he would just attack the man. "She's gone. Yep, Sarks took her a few minutes ago. I thought I would hold back to see that look in your eyes." he laughed again, taunting the younger man. "That look right there." he pointed to the angered and sad eyes of his brother and his smile seemed to get wider. "That's the look I had when you—" Barney shook his head. "You took her away from me."

"This is about your girlfriend who was a murdering, psychopath?" Clint asked stalking toward Barney, before picking the man up by his shirt and slamming his against the wall. "I'm not sorry I put an arrow in her and I would do it again." the smile fell from Barney's face, and the anger spread across his features. "Where the fuck is my wife?!"

"Oh, little brother, if I have anything to do about it, you're never going to lay eyes on that hot piece of ass ever again." Barney growls before a sadistic smile crosses his lips. "Or that baby she's carrying." And that's when it happened. That's when the once calculated, precise and deliberate agent changed into raving mad man. Clint couldn't stop himself and at this point in time didn't want to stop himself. His fist was repeatedly hitting the man's face letting out all of his frustration and anger on the man. He didn't hear the door open behind him and so he didn't expect to be pulled back and when he did he tried to get back. Barney had fell to the floor, his face a bloody mess of cuts and bruises but he was still laughing, still taunting him. He took a step forward, only for Matthew to appear in front of him and push him back.

"What the fuck is going on, where is my sister?" Matthew asked looking at Clint, and turning back to Barney who sat still laughing. "No, no, no!" Matthew shook his head before walking over and slamming his fist into the wall. He knew this was a bad idea, bringing her in, but when he was called into the agency and told that a warrant had been drawn up, there was nothing that he could do. Or at least that's what he had to tell himself. In all honesty there was a lot he could've done, but at the moment it didn't matter. He turned around in time to see Clint grab the man and pull him to his feet.

"Tell me where she is!" Clint snapped angrily. He was moments away from tearing his brother apart if he didn't talk. Suddenly the lights switched on in the small room, bringing light to the wreck that it was. Matthew and Barney lifted their heads to the light, but Clint kept his eyes on his brother who smiled.

"That brother is the sign that your wife is now out of the building." Barney said before bringing his eyes back to Clint. "And my signal to get the hell out of here." before Clint knew what was happening, Barney jerked his head forward hitting Clint square in the nose. Clint's grasp released and Barney took the chance to run out the door. He didn't get too far before gun fired hitting him right in the leg and knocking him off of his feet. Matthew stalked over before flipping the man over and shoving the hot barrel into the bullet hole in Barney's leg.

"I don't know you, and I don't need to know you." Matthew growled pressing the gun deeper making the man his in pain. "But you will die in this room if you don't tell me where Sarkissian took my sister."

"Oh, boy, you don't get to where I am by fearing things like death." Barney said through a bloody smile. "I've been ready for death for a long time." It was that moment when armed agents filed into the room lead by Jack whose eyes scanned around before looking down the Matthew.

"Shit!" the agent yelled. "Black!" Matthew didn't move a muscle as he pressed his gun into Barney's leg. Jack growled in frustration before stalking over and pushing the man back. "What the hell happened?"

"What do you think happened Jack?!" Matthew snapped angrily. "I told you that this was a bad idea, but you were obsessed!" Matthew looked over when Clint's phone suddenly rang and the man began moving toward the door. He didn't wait for an invitation before following behind him. "What's happening?" Clint didn't say anything as he continued listening.

"Stay on her, I'm on my way." he ended the call before stepping onto the elevator. "That was Mason. He and Nat were outside when they spotted a SUV speeding away. They're tailing them now."

"Rinny?"

"They don't know," Clint said looking up to the numbers wishing they would move faster. "I need a car."

"Done." Matthew replied turning toward the doors as they opened. They stepped off into a mass of panic with people running around trying to figure out what happened. It was Steve who spotted them first, noting their expressions.

"Guys!" Steve called and Tony and Bruce looked over before following his eyes to Clint and Matthew who were headed for the door. It was the fact that Katie wasn't with them was what they noticed the most. They quickly rushed over, keeping in stride with the pair.

"So you disappear into the trap elevator and you didn't come back with her?" Tony asked and Clint didn't respond. Right now his focus was on one thing and one thing only and that was getting to his wife before it was too late.

He spotted Matthew's car and held out his hands wordlessly for the keys and without argument, surprisingly, Matthew handed them over. Clint went to the drivers side, while Matthew went to the passenger side, only to find that it wouldn't.

"Hey!" Matthew called, but Clint didn't even turn before stepping inside the car. "Hey!" Matthew slammed his palm to the top of the car. It didn't matter because within seconds the engine was roaring and Clint had peeled off. "Son of a bitch!"

"I guess I'm going to have to be the one to ask" Tony said as he walked up beside Matthew. "What are you doing here and where the hell is my kitten?" Matthew looked over to Tony before turning to walk away, only to be blocked by Bruce. Steve walked over as well, slightly surrounding him.

"Fine, I'll tell you anything you want to know after we get my sister out of the hands of a terrorist." Matthew said, and their eyes go wide at the statement. "A woman name Ophelia Sarkissian has Rinny right now and Natasha and Rick are on her tail." he turned to Tony. "Where's your car?"

His foot was on the floor, speeding through traffic. Clint glanced down to his phone to a GPS location of Natasha's signal. He was close, but not close enough. His hands gripped the steering wheel as he swerved through traffic. All the while his heart rammed in his chest because this was one of those moments. One of the moments that could change everything. He remembers the first time recognized the moment.

_Clint's palms were sweaty. He wished in this moment that they weren't because it only verified his fear that he was nervous. A hand gave his shoulder a squeeze and he turned to see the Elvis impersonator give him a smile and Clint simply nodded before turning back to the double doors ahead, just waiting. It was funny, because he thought at this point he'd start having doubts. When the idea for Vegas came up, some shot gun wedding definitely wasn't in the thought process, but here he was. And there was no doubt. There was actually anticipation mixed with a lot of impatience. He had no idea how much he wanted this until he was standing at an alter waiting for her._

_One of the assistants walked over to Elvis and whispered something in his ear before turning and hurrying off._

" _Is everything alright?" Clint asked and the impersonator simply nodded._

" _Everything is fine." he replied before turning to the doors. "Your girl is here and we're ready to begin." Clint turned to the doors, sucking in a breath and holding it. Then the doors opened and there she was._

She wasn't tied up, wasn't bound and gagged. Katie was sitting in the back of a very luxurious limousine, sitting across from a familiar raven haired woman who she'd only seen from grainy photos. Her eyes were glued to the woman, watching her every move. The woman's hair was long, nearly covering the side of the woman's face. At the moment, the woman held a glass of champagne to her lips.

"I would offer you a glass, but--" The woman's eyes glanced down to Katie's stomach. "I doubt you would accept."

"You know in most kidnapping situations, the victim isn't treated so—" Katie eyes glanced around the limousine before bringing her eyes to the woman. "Comfortably?" the woman simply chuckled as she downed the contents of her glass.

"I didn't really see the point." the replied the woman as she poured more champagne in her glass. "You weren't going to put up a fight. The thing about a woman carrying a child is that she they become someone new. Very protective even if it means bowing down. I know a lot about you Katherine Banks—" he chuckled once again. "I'm sorry, that's Katherine Barton I believe. You're the daughter of Martin Chambers and—" she rolled her eyes slightly. "Angelika Bergkeller. You were supposed to be HYDRA's golden child, but you had to be difficult and question everything." Katie narrowed her eyes at the woman but shook her head. "But that's all in the past, and dwelling on it changes nothing."

"Why am I here?" Katie asked angrily. "My mother is dead. If you're looking for her, then you're going to have to go to the Denton Memorial Cemetery and pay your respects." the woman once again laughed, this time sitting her glass down.

"You're a beautiful liar, but I'm better." the woman said with a smile as she leans forward slightly. "We know your mother's alive, because HYDRA still breathes, and it's heart still beats, even if your new director does not know of it. Your mother has something I desperately need, and now—" the woman's smile widened. "Now I have something she desperately can't live without. I have the one bargaining chip that gets things done." Katie turned away from her to look out the window. "A mother's love knows no bounds." the statement caused the woman to giggle devilishly as she once again picked up her glass to bring it to her lips, but before it could make it to her lips, it slip from her fingers hitting the floor. Katie turned to the woman to see her hands slightly shaking.

"So that's why you need my mother." Katie said and the woman glared over to her. "You're sick." the woman didn't say anything, but she did raise her eyes when they felt the car slowing down. Ophelia looked at the woman angrily before turning toward the driver.

"What's happening?!" she asked angrily. "Why are we stopped?" she didn't get an answer. Her eyes search around until she finds the switch to lower the partition. Once she finds it, she lowers the partition to find her driver sitting unconscious, his head resting on top of the steering wheel. "What the hell is going on?" She looked out the window to see that the car was stopped in the middle of the street. Ophelia reach down to try to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. She glanced over to Katie who seemed to be looking around as well trying to figure out what was going on. "What is happening?!" the woman asked angrily and Katie turned to her with a shrug. There was a horn honking from somewhere and both women turned to see a semi heading right toward them, going too fast to stop. Katie looked over to Sarkissian who seemed frozen in that moment. She turned back to see the semi, when she felt it. A thump. And then another. She dropped her eyes to her stomach, and then there was another thump.

"Ok," she breathed. Instinct took over and Katie turned crawling over the lowered partition. She heard the screeching tires of the truck, but didn't stop moving until she was in the front seat of the car. Her eyes landed on the unconscious driver for a second before turning to try to push open the passenger door. It wouldn't budge and she pushed and pushed with all the strength she hand. "Please!" the trucks horn was so loud, meaning it was too close. "Somebody help!" her hands were starting to bleed the way she gripped the handle trying to push the door open, but it was no use. This was it. This was then end.

Katie closed her eyes and brought her hands around her belly and waited for the end. What she didn't expect was the wind that hit her face. She peeked open an eye and the door was somehow open. There was no time to question or wonder why, not yet anyways.

The signal had stopped. That was the single thought Clint had in that moment. The signal had stopped which could only mean one of two things may have happened. Either they found her in time and she was safe. She was probably cursing his name right now waiting for him to show up. There was the second possibility. The possibility he couldn't bring himself to even fathom. Right now he had hope.

But it would seem that hope wasn't enough. When he arrived the streets were blocked off, and there were the flashing lights of police and paramedics practically everywhere. He stopped breathing.

_There was the faint sound of music playing from somewhere, but he can't place it. In all honesty it's not the music he will remember in this moment. It's the woman walking toward him, dressed in the most beautiful white dress and her hair pulled up showing her bright smile on her face. Her hands grasped a bouquet of flowers as she moved toward him and there was a part of him wishing she'd hurry. And as if someone was listening to his prayers, there she was. Standing right in front of him. She handed off the flowers to the assistant before taking Clint's hands. The moment he touched her, he let out the breath he'd been holding since the doors open. Her hand seemed to grip his tighter as she stared up to his eyes smiling that smile that seemed to get him every time._

" _God you're beautiful." he whispered to her and she let out a chuckle before they both turned to the impersonator._

" _Wow, Elvis. Really?" Katie said turning to Clint. "This is getting entirely too cliche."_

" _I know, but he's all they had," Clint said as they turned to the man. "Plus think of the stories we'll tell."_

" _You two sure you're ready for this?" the impersonator asked and they both turned to each other once again. In that moment they had never been more sure of anything else._

"Sir, I'm going to need you to step back." the officer said pushing Clint from passing the barrier. The officer's words didn't even make it to his ear, before Clint grabbed the man's shoulders before jerking a knee into the man's gut, causing him to fall to the ground in pain. He'd only taken a couple of steps past the barrier before he was surrounded by officers with their guns pointed toward him. Believe it or not, he didn't see them. His eyes were on the totally destroyed limousine sitting in the middle of the intersection.

"Hey, he's ok!" a voice yelled. "Drop your weapons!" Jack had traffic shut down and took the chopper to get here as quickly as he could. He flashed his badge and as expected the officers dropped their weapons. Jack walked beside Clint, before following his eyes. "Aw Shit." he cursed with a shake of his head as he ran his fingers through his hair. Jack glanced over to Clint, who seemed to be frozen in his spot and figured at the moment that might be best. He took out his cell phone and walked off. "Yeah, I need to find Black, right now."

"Barton!" Natasha called when she spotted him. She moved as quickly as she could with her injured leg before appearing in front of him. "Barton look at me." Clint's eyes never parted from the limo.

"Was she in there?" he asked and Natasha looked over her shoulder to the car and sighed.

"Yes," she said turning back to him. "But she's not now." Clint turned back Natasha at her words.

"Where is she?"

"You need to calm down and—" Clint grabbed her shoulders hard and stared at her with a look of pure anger and desperation.

"Natasha!" he said pronouncing every syllable, which sounded off coming from him. "Where is she?" there was nothing left for her to do, but show him." Natasha turned and walked off, and Clint followed closely behind her. He spotted a group of EMTs huddled by one of the ambulances.

"Clear!" someone yelled, followed by a electric shock. After that, Clint pushed his way through the crowd until he saw her. His wife was lying on the ground, her shirt cut open exposing her black bra and her rounded belly.

"Still no pulse." one of the EMTs said. "Charging to three fifty." there was another shock and Katie's body jerked from the ground only to once again fall limp. Clint looked down waiting for them to continue, but as one of the EMT's went to shock her once again, another held up a hand to stop him.

"It's no use. She's gone."

"What?" Clint said and they lifted their eyes to him. "No, save her!" he took a step forward, but Natasha grabbed his arm. At some point Mason appeared and tried to hold him back as well. "You save her!"

"Barton, it's over." Natasha whispered to him, but her words were falling on deaf ears.

"Save my wife!" he could feel the moment it was it was happening. He was starting to crumble. Everything around him was crumbling. It was all falling apart because it was her who held it together and now...now she...now she was gone.

" _I was told you two prepared some words." the impersonator said and they both nodded. "So who wants to go first."_

" _I probably should." Katie said turning to Clint. "I'm like moments away from blubbering like a baby and think I should say this while everyone can still understand what I say." Clint simply laughed before nodding. "So I've had all of an hour to come up with what to say now and I was kind of freaking out because I'm no good with words." she smiled up to him. "And when it comes to you I really get nervous and there's butterflies and all that other girly stuff I won't bore you with, but anyways." Clint laughed and it made her smile. "I started to think about what I wanted to say to you in this moment. This moment where I give myself to you completely and in every way possible. And it hit me. There aren't words or at least I don't have words to describe just how important you are to me. My life didn't start until you sat at my table and interrupted me from eating a very delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich." he laughed again, this time reaching up to wipe tears from his own eyes. "Clint Barton I don't think there are any words that I could even say that could describe just how much I love you." she dropped her head because the tears she hoped would wait until she was done seemed to pick that moment to fall. She brought her watery gaze back to his and he reached forward to wipe the tears away with his thumb. "So today I'm going to promise that I will make it my life's mission to show you just how much I love you everyday of my life, until my last breath." he smiled down to her, unable to even describe the feeling of pure happiness that had filled him in this moment. "I also promise to be that pain in your ass, because let's be honest if I didn't, I just wouldn't be me." Clint laughed wanting nothing more in that moment to just kiss her. He stared at her for a long moment before he heard someone clear their throat. He tore his eyes from her to the Elvis impersonator who looked to him._

" _Oh, I guess it's my turn." Clint said turning back to Katie who smiled up to him before giving his hands a reassuring squeeze. "You don't know this, but before that famous day in that cafe where you were brought into the world of crazy, it was my job to watch you. Now I was a pretty good agent, with a really good resume so when the director told me my next mission was to watch some girl, I was definitely not happy."_

" _Feeling underutilized?" Katie joked and Clint nodded with a slight laugh._

" _Exactly." He laughed before he lifted his eyes from her in thought and smiled. "And I remember the moment I first saw you, you were coming out of a bagel shop and you stopped." he chuckled to himself. "I stood there and watched you hand out bagels to the homeless people sitting against the wall. And then you just walked away like it was nothing." he brought his eyes back to her. "So I think it was that moment I fell in love with you even though I never would've admitted to anyone, including myself." he shook his head slightly as he looked into her eyes. "Kat, you know me better than anyone else in this world and somehow still you manage to love me." he doesn't know he's doing it, but he's inching toward her. "You are my best friend and one true love." The assistant hands Katie a tissue to wipe away falling tears. "And there is still a part of me today that cannot believe that I'm the one who gets to marry you. So I want you to know right now, today and everyday after I will show just how grateful I am. I will love you and protect you and I will make it my mission-" he placed is hand on the soft skin on her cheek, and brought his face closer to hers so she could see the truth in his eyes. "To make sure you never feel alone again because if I am around, you never will be."_

People were talking to him, trying to get his attention, but Clint wasn't listening. Not when she was just lying there on the ground, lifeless.

When the others arrived, they stopped for a moment taking in the scene. The cop at the blockade thought it best to just move aside and let them past. Once inside, Tony spotted Natasha's red hair in the distance and he almost ran over. His feet actually came to a sliding stop when he saw the body lying on the ground.

"Wha—No, no." he closed his eyes for a moment, and took a deep breath hoping his eyes were playing a trick on him and the woman lying there wasn't her. He opened his eyes, assaulted with the truth once again and he just shook his head before turning and stalking off without a word to anyone. He walked past Matthew, Steve and Bruce who lost him in the crowd. When he walked past, he didn't even cast a look in their direction. Matthew turned to the direction the man had just came and saw the feet of someone lying on the ground and he stopped. It was Bruce who went on ahead, while Steve stayed back with Matthew.

"Hey Matt." Steve said, but at this point the young man wasn't even there in this moment. Steve placed a hand on the man's shoulder trying to reach him, but it was no use. Matthew watched as Bruce walked over and stopped dead in his tracks as he reached the body. He pulled off his glasses and ran his hand over his eyes before glancing over to Clint and then to Matthew. Matthew didn't need to go over there to see the truth, but for some reason he feet began moving. "Matt, no." Steve began trying to push Matt back knowing he wasn't ready to see it yet. "You need—"

"I need her!" Matthew snapped, tears welling in his eyes as reality falls on him. His sister is gone and it was his fault. "I need my sister. Just move." Steve moved mostly because the pain in the man's eyes was too damn sad. Even for him. When Matthew arrived he saw her, lying there, a blue blanket pulled up to cover everything but her face. She looked like she was sleeping, like he could just reach down and flick her nose like he used to and she would just wake up. Matthew tore his eyes from his sister to Clint whose eyes bore into the body as if trying to will her awake with his mind. And so Matthew reached out a hand and grabbed the man's shoulder as they stood there in silence.

Maria didn't go over. Sure she was fine with death. As fine as anyone could be. She had to be with the life she'd chosen, but it was seeing someone she cared about, just dead, that always got to her. She stood off from the group with her phone pressed against her ear listening to it ring when suddenly he answered.

" _Hill,"_ Coulson said. _"Status?"_

Maria looked over to a group of heroes who stood around the body of a woman, who wasn't just a woman. She wasn't aware of the shaky breath that escaped her lips after the question which prompted the new director to ask once again.

" _Hill?"_

"The Sparrow has fallen."

Those four words were spoken and then the line ended.

Clint, Steve, Bruce, Natasha, Matthew and former senior agent Rick Mason stood staring down at the woman who held a big chunk of their hearts. The silence among them was almost deafening. The only sounds came from the hustle and bustle around them, but none of them even noticed. In this moment it would take something truly extreme to tear them from this moment. The rain wasn't that thing. Even as it fell hard, quite unexpected actually. And the lightning that cut jagged scars across the darkened sky went unnoticed as well. But then the ground shook and they couldn't ignore the world around them anymore.

"Out of my way!" the deep voice of their friend boom. They all lifted their heads to see the Asgardian headed right toward them.

"Thor, what—" Natasha stopped talking when the god just bent down and scooped Katie into his arms.

"What are you doing?" Clint asked finally able to form words. "Where are you taking her?" Thor cut his eyes to the man, and it was at this point did they truly take in the god's appearance. His hair fell loose around his face, and there was bruises and scratches along his face. Then there was the blood on his breast plate. Whatever he'd gone through before this was clearly a rough journey.

"I have figured it out." Thor said before letting his eyes fall to the woman in his arms. "Why this death can not be." he stepped back away from the team and they all just watched him in confusion. "Forgive me, for there is no time to explain, but know this. Her heart was not meant to stop beating today. I will fix this. I promise" and with that the man lifted his head to the sky. "Heimdall, open the bifrost!" The light that engulfs them is too bright to look at so everyone staring is forced to turn away and the moment they turned back, they're just gone.

**Meanwhile, in the middle of nowhere**

Cynthia Chambers sat surrounded by papers with her scribbled notes, and random pieces of information that she remembered from her past. She couldn't explain it, but she couldn't shake the thought that there was more to HYDRA wanting this formula. She was currently sifting through the printed documents she was able to snag from her lab during her time with HYDRA. She never revealed them to anyone. They were her own insurance policy. She'd gone through pages and pages when something caught her eyes. There were blood work and tests done on two subjects. It caught her eyes only because it was her formulas that were being used. These same equations and variables that led her to discovering the single thing that could change the world.

"Subject names, Wanda Maximoff and Pietro Maximoff." the woman reads, those names seeming oddly familiar. "Code names, Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver. Mother, Magda Eisenhardt. Father—"she dropped the papers when she read his name. She stood frozen in shock for a moment before turning and rushing from the room to find Martin. He stood in the middle of the living room staring at the television. "Martin you won't believe what I—" her eyes glanced to the screen and that's when she saw the picture of her daughter on the screen. The words, "Car accident", and "One known casualty" written underneath caused the woman to just fall to her knees.


	34. Chapter 34

Life is funny because nothing ever turned out the way you thought it would. When Clint imagined some of the pentacle moments of his life, the last thing he imagined was one of them would be him standing on the roof of the Avengers Tower in the pouring rain debating on whether he should jump off the edge or not. He never imagined that there was anything in this world that could make him feel so empty and so worthless that all he wanted to do was just end it all. But she was gone. His everything was just gone and at the moment he was not seeing a point in sticking around. He closed his eyes, the image of her lying on the ground, lifeless, flashed and he nearly did it. He nearly climbed on the edge and just ended all the pain right then and there.

"You should come inside." a familiar voice spoke from behind him. He didn't turn, because he knew if he did he'd see that look. It was the look they all seem to have when looking at him. The sadness and the pity. He didn't need their looks. He needed her. "Standing in the rain isn't going to bring her back."

"What's going to bring her back then Nat!" Clint snapped angrily turning to face her. "Tell me what am I supposed to do in this moment?!"

"Wait." Natasha replied holding the umbrella firmly in her hand before walking over to him. "There is still hope. Thor—" Clint huffed in anger turning away from the woman. It had been three days since the accident. Since he was standing above his wife's dead body before Thor came out of nowhere and swooped her away to god knows where. Three days and the Asgardian couldn't be bothered with a single word of what the hell he was doing. Clint was left with nothing but a single image burning a hole in his brain that he was positive was literally slowly killing him. There was a strike of lightening above them, but only Natasha lifted her head to the sky. It hadn't stopped raining since the accident and they weren't sure if that was a good or bad sign. "When Thor came to tell us about this seer and this vision, he told me that he was going to do everything in his power to make sure that it didn't come true."

"But it did." Clint muttered as his hands clutched the side of the roof. "Her heart stopped beating." he dropped his head and closed his eyes when he remembered what he really lost. "Their hearts stopped beating and for the life of me I can't seem to understand why mine still does." Natasha stood there staring at a truly broken man. In that moment she did something she rarely did. She prayed. She prayed to whoever was listening, any deity who had their ears open, she prayed that something would make sure that whatever Thor was doing, somehow brought Katie back because she was afraid if he didn't, their troubles were only going to get worse.

Jane had to quickly drop to her knees as something heavy and metallic came flying her way. She looked over to Darcy who had dropped to the floor as well, both their eyes wide in fear. Jane slowly lifted herself, despite Darcy shaking her head for her not to.

"I don't understand how a scientist who has been researching and then found a bridge to another realm, can't seem to find it when it's needed!" Tony snapped angrily as he continued picking up random items from tables and throwing them as hard as he could. "I mean doesn't that just make you question your whole life's work if in the end you're back to where you started." The elevator doors slid open and out walked Bruce whose eyes went to the two women cowering on the floor, before his darken gaze turned to the cause.

"Tony, we talked about this!" Bruce yelled walking over to the man and snatching a stapler from his hand before he could throw it. "You're sad, and you're angry, we all are, but it doesn't excuse temper tantrums." Tony shook his head before turning to walk away, but Bruce caught his arm to stop him. "You need to get out of here, out of this lab. You've been here since she-" Bruce sighed knowing hearing the words wouldn't help this situation.

"Since what?" Tony asked tilting his head. His face was a full on scowl at the moment. "Say it." he shoved Bruce and that caused Jane and Darcy to intervened.

"Alright!" Darcy yelled moving between the two men. "I don't think hitting the guy who could turn into the not so Jolly Green Giant is what we need right now."

"I couldn't agree more." Jane said standing with Darcy between the two men. "And I'm sorry I can't locate the bridge, but even if I could we still would have to be let in." Jane turned to Tony. "We have to trust that Thor knows what he's doing."

"Trust Thor?" Tony asked tossing up his hands in frustration. "I don't know Thor. I don't know why he's here or where he really came from. I don't know why he took her and—" Tony's fists clenched at his sides as he thought back to seeing his friend dead on the ground. He opened his eyes and looked up to the people in front of him and just shook his head.

"Tony you need to take a break." Bruce said taking a step toward the man. "Go home, talk to Pepper."

"Pepper's not really talking to me at the moment, but I get it." Tony said turning to his holograph computer that was running a search practically across the globe for the anomalies associated with the Einstein Rosen Bridge. They had come up with nothing and it was the waiting that was killing him. At least if he was doing something he felt like he was actually helping the situation. Sitting and doing nothing made him feel worthless and he had to do something. Find something, anything that could bring her back. She just couldn't be dead.

"Tony, you need sleep. To get out of your head for a while." Darcy said looking over to the man. "You may not know Thor, but we do and we trust him and he made a promise to her." Tony looked over to her. "He promised Katie that if she helped him, he would owe her forever. If he thinks her death was a mistake and that he can reverse it or something, I believe that he can. I mean he's from a freakin other planet. Who knows the type of shit they're capable of?" she turned to Jane who simply nodded in agreement. "But we're going to have to wait and chill out." she turned back to Tony. "And shower, you know smelling nice and fresh isn't a bad thing." he sent her a slight glare before turning back to the monitor.

"Fine, but if this finds anything—"

"We're not making a move without you." Bruce assured and Tony nodded before turning and heading for the elevator. Once the man was gone, Bruce walked over and looked up to the hologram computer.

"Is anybody else worried about what's going to happen if this all goes to shit?" Darcy asked walking over to stand beside Bruce. "If Thor can't bring her back, if the one thing we really didn't want to happen, just happens and she's just gone." she turned her head to Bruce who seemed to be staring intently at the screen. "I know she's just a woman, but—"

"She was more than that." Bruce said not daring to tear his eyes from the screen. Emotions were definitely not his friend and he was afraid that if he really let himself feel, then the other guy might be making an appearance. "She's family. She's the reason there's a team in the first place. Sure, Fury found us, stuck us in a room until we saved the world. But we didn't trust him, we trusted her." Bruce finally turned away from the screen and looked down to the young woman. "We're here because of her and without her, I'm not sure if we'll last much longer." Bruce turned and headed for his lab. "Come get me if something happens."

Tony rode the elevator with eyes closed and his back against the wall. He could really use a drink. He'd been trying to avoid alcohol, trying to keep his mind clear, but it would seem it didn't matter because in reality there was nothing for him to do. When the doors slid open, he pushed himself from the wall and stepped out into his penthouse. The moment he did, he nearly turned back, but the doors had closed before he could make his escape. Pepper and her mother had stopped talking, both their eyes going to him.

"Good, you're here." Vivan said with a smile as she walked over to him. "Pepper has filled me in on what's been happening and given what she's told me, I'm a little surprised at you." Tony looked at the woman for a moment before walking over to the booze. He definitely needed this drink. "This woman has a history of faking her death apparently, so I guess I don't see how postponing the wedding makes any kind of sense." Tony still hadn't said a word as he poured himself a glass of bourbon. "This woman—"

"Katie," Tony said before downing the contents of his glass before turning a darkened gaze to the woman. "Her name was Katie, not _this woman_."

"Mother, I told you it was pointless." Pepper said with a shake of her head. "When it comes to her, when it comes to his kitten, he's blinded and nothing and no one else matters." Tony looked over to her and shook his head. "I had a feeling she would ruin my wedding and now she actually has."

"She saved your life." Tony said pointing to his fiance before turning to pour himself another drink. "And mine on more than one occasion and whenever I tried to thank her, she would hit me." he chuckled to himself as he brought the glass to his lips, the image of her lying on the ground flashed once again and his hand began to shake. He slowly just put the glass back down on the table before turning back to Pepper. "She was dead. I saw it with my own eyes this time. If you don't believe it, then fine. Go plan your wedding." he turned to Vivan whose eyes were wide in shock. "And you should help her find a groom, because I won't be there." he stormed back to the elevator, the doors opening almost instantly thanks to a very perceptive AI. Once he was gone the Potts women turned to each other.

"Mother, what if I'm wrong, what if she is—"

"It doesn't matter." Vivan said with a shake of her head. "If she is, he'll grieve, but with her gone, his attention, his full attention will be on you where it should be." Vivan gave her daughter a reassuring nod. "Whether it's true or not, this is what we needed." Pepper simply scoffed at her mother's coldness before stalking out of the room. "You may not see it sweetheart, but mama does. You will have the life you deserve."

Matthew Banks was numb. There was absolutely nothing or no one who could make him feel better, which is why he was glad no one was even trying. That was until a knock at his door threw all that out the window. He didn't answer it, of course he didn't answer. There was no one he wanted to see, or talk to. Three days later and he was just empty. He guessed it didn't matter, because the person must've gotten JARVIS to unlock the door, because he heard them the moment it opened. Soon someone sat on the chair across from him and even though he was looking right at them, he wasn't seeing them. A hand waved in front of his face and snapped him out of his daze to see that it was only Steve.

"Why are you here?" Matthew asked, his voice dry and hoarse. He hadn't cried, even though he probably should. He was packing it all in, hoping that as some point the pain would all just go away.

"We should talk." Steve said noting the dark circles around the man's eyes and his crumpled clothing. He sighed with a shake of his head. "And I know now is not the best time, but I'm afraid there will never be a best time."

"Why are you here?" Matthew asked again lifting a darken gaze to the captain.

"Who are you?" Steve asked suddenly and Matthew didn't twitch or bat an eye at the question. "It's just I'm trying to figure the ends and outs of this entire thing and at the moment that's the question I need answered."

"My name is Matthew Banks, my sister is—" he swallowed the lump in his throat as he forced himself to correct his mistake. "My sister was Katherine Banks. That's who I am Captain."

"It's just, I don't think that's it." Steve said leaning in to the man. "Why were you at the CIA HQ that day?" Matthew turned away and it was the first mistake. "Matthew—"

"My name is Matthew Banks." the man stated turning back to Steve. "My sister was Katherine Banks. That's who I am captain." this time Matthew stood to his feet about to leave, but Steve was quicker and grabbed the man by the shoulder and slammed his back against the door.

"Maybe I'm being insensitive in your time of grieving for your sister." Steve said slamming the man as he attempted to push from his grasp. "And I'm sorry for that, but a woman is dead. A woman who means an awful lot to everyone here and we don't know why she's dead. You know something Matt, and you're going to tell me." Matthew glared into the blue eyes of Captain America and just knew this only ended one way and at this point he didn't even see a reason to fight it anymore.

"My name is Matthew Banks," Matthew sighed dropping his head. "But I also go by Agent Black." He lifted his eyes back to Steve's who waited for him to continue. "I'm with the CIA."

Rick Mason was man of habit. He figured if something works, why mess with it. So whenever he found himself lost, or in need of answers he turned to the one place they always came from. That place was SHIELD, and it was usually Director Fury who was there with a few words of encouragement that lifted him back on his feet and threw him right back into the fight. But there was no Fury, and hell, if he was completely honest with himself, then he'd admit that there was no more SHIELD. So he sat on the matted floor of his closest substitute. He was in the training room of Coulson and his team's base of operation. At the moment he held a water bottle in his hand as he watched the punching bag in front of him sway back and forth.

"You're here longer then I expected." a voice spoke and Mason looked over to see Melinda walking in. She looked over to the punching bag that looked as if it had taken a pretty bad beating. "And you're ruining the furniture." he didn't even crack a smile and she sighed before walking over and sliding in the seat beside him. "You were trained to be alright with death." he glanced over to her before simply standing to his feet about to leave. "I get it. I mean they tried to train us to be alright with death, to not personalize it, but when it's someone who you fought side by side with, when it's someone whose gotten so deep under your skin, how do you not personalize that."

"She shouldn't be dead right now." Mason spoke finally before tossing his bottle into a nearby wall. "I mean this world is filled with the most evil bastards that ever lived, and she's the one who dies?" he shook his head. "How do you fight for that?" he closed his eyes and sighed. "How do you go to sleep and wake up the next morning and decide I'm going to continue fighting for a world where that shit is possible?"

"Because it's what she would want." a new voice spoke and they turned to see Coulson for the first time since learning of Katie's death. He didn't look sad or angry, he simply looked like Coulson. "Yeah, it's bullshit and it makes absolutely no sense, but if your fight dies with her, then you really didn't know her all that well. That woman fought when she was knocked down at every turn, she fought when those she cared about left her. You're going to keep on fighting because it's how you keep her here. It's how you keep her memory here." Rick didn't say anything, because at the moment his tough guy exterior was crumbling. "Yes you were trained to be alright with death, but no one ever really believed any of you could. That's not what we wanted to see. We didn't train you to be alright with losing someone. We wanted to see who had the courage to admit that wasn't possible." May stood to her feet and walked over beside Mason. "Our fight doesn't end with her. It can't. We will continue to fight and we will find the people who did this." Coulson turned his eyes to Mason. "Pack up, you're going back to New York."

"Sir?"

"There's a team of people who are standing right where you are right now." Coulson replied. "The world can't afford for them the fall apart." Rick stood there for a moment before giving his director a nod before walking past the man and out of the room.

"Are you alright?" Melinda asked watching Coulson closely. She knew the man had taken the news of Katie's passing hard, but she also knows he'd never let himself show it.

"I'm fine." Coulson said clearing his throat before turning and walking out as well. Melinda simply shook her head before stalking out of the room.

It took a lot, but Natasha was able to drag Clint from the roof back to his apartment. The moment he walked inside, he stalked into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him. Natasha simply collapsed on the the couch letting out a tired sigh as she brought her hands to cover her face. She needed the quiet for just a few moments. It would seem she would only get just that. There was a knock at the door, and she lifted her head to it before standing to her feet and walking over to open it. It was Steve, and he had Matthew in tow. He pulled the young man into the room before pushing him to sit.

"What the hell is going on?" Natasha asked turning to the pair. She looked down to Matthew, who kept his eyes down. "You told him."

"Yes he told me!" Steve snapped and Natasha shook her head before taking a seat in the chair across from him. "What I want to know is why none of us knew that he was the CIA?"

"Because it was not tactically relevant." Natasha rambled off as she rubbed her tired eyes. She knew such an argument wouldn't be enough for the man, but at the moment she didn't care.

"It wasn't—" Steve could feel the anger rise up inside of him. "A woman is dead!"

"Yes and that in no way, shape or form had anything to do with the fact the Matthew is a CIA agent. The truth is she's dead because she was an idiot!" Natasha stood to her feet. "She knew—" her fists clenched at her side as she began pacing. "First it was meeting Barney, and then it was going off with her parents without telling anyone anything, then it was letting herself be captured by the fucking CIA." both men watched the woman, who exhibiting way more emotion they thought she even was capable of. She stopped and turned her glare to them. "She had the knowledge and the skill not to die and she—" Natasha dropped her head for a second and Steve took a step toward her but she she held up a hand to stop him. She met his eyes once again. "Make sure Barton doesn't go back on the roof." and with that she turned and stormed out of the room.

Martin Chambers sat on the edge of the bed beside his sleeping wife. She hadn't been sleeping much since the news report, and when she did it was never for long. He placed a kiss to her forehead before standing and quietly leaving the room. He found himself back in the living room, sitting and staring down at his cell phone. There was a call he needed to make and he'd been holding off but he doesn't think he can hold off much longer. He dialed each number, hesitating on that last digit, but with a deep breath he pressed it before bringing the phone to his ear. It only rang a couple of times before it was answered.

 _"This is Coulson._ " the director answered and for the life of him, Martin couldn't let the words pass his lips. _"Hello?"_

"Hello director." the man finally spoke and he heard a sigh escape the man's lips.

_"Martin, I—"_

"Is my baby dead?"

Dead silence followed the question, but it was answer enough. It was an answer Martin couldn't bare. He closed his eyes as he finally let himself accept the truth. This whole time he'd carried this hope that there had been some sort of mistake, or that Coulson had cooked up some plan to fake her death. It's that hope he tried to pass along to his wife.

"You know she didn't cry when she was born. I thought when a kid was born, they wailed as loud as their little lungs would let them, but not her. She came out eyes wide open like she wasn't scared. Like she'd been waiting to be here."

_"Martin, you have me word—"_

"I don't want your word director, I want my baby girl." Martin said taking a deep breath to stop himself from breaking one of his own rules. "Sarkissian?"

 _"She wasn't there._ _She must've gotten away before—"_

"So my little girl is dead and the person behind it is scott free?"

 _"No, not scott free. We will find Sarkissian and she will know the consequences of messing with my people."_ the was another pregnant pause between the men. _"I can keep you safe Martin. You and your wife, out there on your own, it's dangerous. You're vulnerable out there."_

"It was you who said you could keep my daughter safe." Martin said with a shake of his head. "And maybe I shouldn't have left something so valuable in the hands of anyone other than myself. I trusted Fury and when he gave you the reigns I trusted you. Nothing you've done has help my faith in you director and now my fucking daughter is dead."

 _"Maybe not."_ Coulson said and Martin's brow furrowed in confusion.

"What are you talking about? She's either dead or she's not?"

_"Not necessarily. You're familiar with Thor."_

"The guy from the other planet, yeah, sure."

_"Well he seems to think that he can undo this. He thinks he can bring her back."_

"Do you believe he can?"

 _"I don't—"_ Coulson had just walked into his office and plopped down in his chair. " _My entire life has tested my realm of belief. Aliens, mutants, the possibilities are endless."_ he looked down to the open file that was sitting on his desk. The file that he couldn't stop reading. The file with her picture right at the top. _"Why should this be any different?"_

"I hope you're right director." Martin said before ending the call.

Clint sat on the edge of his bed, his head down and his eyes closed. He was trying to force himself to stop seeing that horrible scene on the street, so he sat there trying to remember every happy memory he could think of.

_She was smiling that smile that stopped his heart every time. His back was pressed against one side of the elevator, while hers to the other. Neither could tear their eyes from the other and neither could stop smiling like fools. They couldn't believe that they actually did it. They actually got married and there were no regrets and no doubt. Actually both had never been more sure of any decision they had ever made._

" _What are you smiling about over there, Mrs. Barton?" he asked and if it was even possible she smiled wider. She pushed herself from the wall walking over to him, his hands slid around her hips and her hands slid up his chest._

" _You should be careful Mr. Barton." she whispered, her lips mere inches away from his. "You keep talking and you're not going to get any sleep tonight." the elevator dinged before the doors opened, but neither made a move, their eyes only on each other._

" _Is that a promise?" Clint whispered back, his lips now practically touching hers. She smiled leaning into the kiss. "Mrs. Barton?" and in one swift movement he placed an arm firmly around her back, before dipping slightly to slide his other arm under her knees lifting her into his arms. She simply laughed as he walked them off the elevator._

And just like that Clint realized that the good memories hurt worse than the bad ones. He jumped to his feet and began pacing back and forth. It was three days later and the gut wrenching pain he felt as he looked down to her unmoving body wasn't getting better, it wasn't getting easier. It was getting worse, and if he was honest then he'd even go as far to say that it was getting harder to breathe with each passing second.

" _Will you stop!" Katie yelped, barely jumping from Clint's grasp. She was unable to stop the smile from forming on her lips as she held the towel as best she could around her body, but it was slipping. "You are going to have to keep it in your pants mister." he had that looking in his eyes. That look that she has come to recognize. It was that look that always stirred up those butterflies in her stomach. "You promised."_

" _I did no such thing, Kat." Clint said taking a slight step forward, only for Katie to back away. "Hard to get is not a game you want to play with your husband Kat. Nothing is too hard for me to get." his eyes trailed down towel that hung loosely around her body. "Nothing."_

" _I thought we agreed that if we were going to make it work here then we would have to make these identities real. Anna and Daniel Smith need to make an appearance at this library fundraiser. We need to smile, shake peoples hands. You know this."_

" _I do know this, but at the moment the only thing I want is under that towel you're holding." Clint said taking another quick step only for Katie to back up once again. This time her back was stopped by the wall behind her, and there was nowhere for her to run. Clint smiled mischievously as he sauntered over her, his hands sliding under the towel. She tried her best to hold that grip she held on the material, but the man and those damn green eyes were doing it to her just like they always did._

" _I like it here in Ashurst." she said with a smile and he couldn't help but to do the same. "This could be it. This could be us."_

" _I like it here too." he whispered, his fingers sliding across the bare skin under her towel eliciting a hiss of pleasure from her parted lips._

" _We have to go." she said her own resolve wavering as the feel of his warm hands on her skin seem to melt away all logic._

" _I know." he whispered his eyes trailing down to her lips. "Mrs. Barton." a moan escaped her lips and that's when he knew he had her._

" _One hour." she said and his eyes went back to her. "The fundraiser starts in one hour." a smile played on her lips. "Don't waste it." without another word needed, Clint grabbed the towel pulling it in one jerk motion, tossing it over his shoulder._

He didn't know they were watching him. Clint didn't really care. Bruce and Steve stood in the doorway of his bedroom, watching the man pace back and forth, seamlessly in his own world.

"I came in here a few minutes ago and found him like this." Steve muttered over to Bruce as they kept their eyes on the man. "I tried talking to him, but it's like he's not even there. I didn't know what else to do, so I called you." Bruce nodded before taking a slight step forward.

"Barton?" he said, gaining no response, or acknowledgment. "Barton can you hear me?" still nothing and this had the doctor worried. He shared a look Steve before nudging his head to the door. Bruce followed Steve out the room, both men glancing over to the archer.

"What do you think?" Steve asked.

"I think he's in shock." Bruce said looking over to Clint who took the same eight step across the room before turning around. "He hasn't slept or eaten anything since she—" Bruce turned back to Steve. "He needs to sleep."

"How do you suggest that happen?"

"I have a sedative I could give him, but I think I'll need your help to give it to him." Bruce said turning back to Clint who simply walked and turned around. "I can't imagine where his head is right now."

"I know." Steve muttered. "We lost a friend, but he lost a wife."

"And a baby." Bruce added. Both men seemed to turn away as they always did when the feelings they were trying to avoid reared their heads. Bruce was the first to regain his composure, clearing his throat before turning back to Steve. "I'm going to head up to the MedU, and then I'll come right back down. Just—" he looked over to Clint with a wary eye. "Keep an eye on him." Steve nodded as Bruce turned and headed for the door. The doctor stopped when glancing over to see Matthew in the same spot on the couch. "Matt." Matthew barely lifted his head to the doctor. "C'mon, come with me."

"Why, are you going to beat me up too?"

"No, just c'mon." Bruce said before opening the door. Matthew sat there for a moment as if hesitating, but he ended up standing to his feet and following the doctor out of the apartment. Once they stepped onto the elevator, the ride was in an expectant silence. It wasn't until Bruce looked over to the young man, the broken look on him so heavy, did the doctor realize what Matthew needed to hear. "It's not your fault." the words caused Matthew to look over to the doctor as if not expecting to hear them. "I know it's hard and it's sad, and when someone dies everyone looks for someone to blame. I'm telling you that person isn't you Matt."

"Then who is it, doc?" Matthew asked with a shake of his head. "Who took the only family I have away from me?"

"I don't know." Bruce sighed looking up to the numbers of the elevator as they increased. "But I have a feeling we are going to find out." he glanced back over to the man with a look of utter seriousness. "I promise." Matthew didn't say anything, but he did nod in agreement. It was a promise he made to himself the moment he saw her. He was going to find the people who did it to her, no matter what. The elevator once again fell into silence as the men waited for the doors to open.

"How are you so calm right now?" Matthew asked and Bruce shook his head.

"Practice." Bruce replied not tearing his eyes from the numbers above the door. "And extreme restraint." the doors slid open and Bruce turned to Matthew. "I didn't want to say anything, because I didn't want to freak anybody out, but he's scratching at the walls." Bruce turned and stepped off the elevator. Matthew stood there slightly stunned before stepping off as well and quickening his steps to catch up to the doctor.

"Should we be worried?" Matthew asked as they stepped inside the double doors of the Medical unit. Bruce only gave him a sideways glance.

"Probably." the doctor said before heading back to the supply room.

Natasha didn't know why she went back on the roof, but there she was, sans umbrella, letting the water fall against her face. Her eyes lifted to the sky, the gray clouds not even seeming as if they are going to dissipate anytime soon. There was another strike of lightening and a roar of thunder that echoed around her.

"Whatever you're doing Thor, you should hurry." she muttered to herself ignoring the slight twitch of her hands at her sides. The armor she kept up, the armor that protected her from the world seemed to be cracking. "I'm not sure how much longer we can hold this together."

_**Meanwhile somewhere high above the stars...** _

The rain hit Thor's face as he threw his head back and let out a guttural roar before spinning his hammer and slamming yet another large beast through trees. His nostrils flared and his chest heaved as ragged breaths shuttered in and out. Slimy arms wrapped around him from behind and he jerked his head back into yet another beast before turning around and swinging his hammer, sending it flying as well. He was given just a moment of peace and Thor used that moment to just observe where he and his comrades were right now. Standing in the middle of a land filled with beasts that made up the stories to scare young children. They trespassed onto the land of these beasts in search of something believed to be a myth. But that myth was their only hope to bringing Katie back. Thor swung his hammer once again, before swinging it up to the sky, a bolt of lightening drawing to his hammer, before he sends striking the beasts that surrounded them. It wasn't enough though. None of it seemed like it was enough. With every beast they knocked down, ten more took their place. Soon Thor, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three stood, their backs to each other as they stood surrounded.

"It's no use!" Fandral said through ragged breaths as he kept his sword gripped tightly in his hands. "There's too many of them!" he looked over to Thor, who forehead dripped blood, but he never broke his fighting stance. "Thor, I know—"

"Look to the clouds!" Thor yelled and they all glanced up to the purplish, blue tinted clouds that formed above them. Just three days prior, the clouds were simply grayish, violet color. Many saw it as just a interesting anomaly that would probably be over before they knew it. But it didn't. The interesting, got worse and it didn't look any better. Something was happening and they could all feel it in their bones. The beasts roared around them, and the warriors stood up straight. "I don't know about you, but I will drop my hammer not. I will fight to my last breath." they all spun around, the beasts closing in. "Will you fight with me?!" They all turned to their prince and gave him a nod before turning to their impending attackers. "Then let us fight!"

They were all fools. Every last one of them. Pathetic even. Those were the thoughts of a certain Frost Giant masquerading as a King. He had long dismissed the healers, leaving him and the mad woman alone. Her body lay on the healing table, a yellow shield of light surrounding her. His eyes trailed from her closed eyes to her rounded belly and he simply shook his head. He closed the distance between him and her body, and with a wave of his hand he revealed his true identity. He had no idea why he didn't feel the need to hide who he was from her. The woman who saw the piece of him he thought he hid well. He leaned in close, the only thing separating them is the force field around her.

"So this is you quiet?" he asked studying her features closely. "It suits you." He just knew that if she were awake, she would say something unbearably annoying. He smiled. "They think you're dead." he simply shook his head as a slight chuckle escaped his lips. "No one pays attention anymore."


	35. Chapter 35

_Clint would probably give his right foot at this moment to get out of this. The last thing he wanted to do was get dressed up and go to some fundraiser, but he was sure he married a witch or a hypnotist because here he was sitting on his couch in the full on monkey suit. He held a beer in his hand, as he glanced down to his clothes and just shook his head. He was sure that once he got that towel off, he would be able to make her forget about the world outside, but it would seem his wife was very determined. His eyes glanced down to his watch. The fundraiser had probably started already and she was still upstairs getting ready._

" _Woman, if you want to go to this thing you're going to have to haul ass!" he called. He heard her footsteps moving above him._

" _Do not rush me!" she called back and he couldn't help but smile as he brought the bottle to his lips. He wouldn't remind her again, because he had no problem with missing this thing. He brought his eyes back to the television, and soon heard her high heeled feet stepping down the stairs. "Ok, be honest. What do you think?" Clint turned to face her and the bottle in his hands nearly slipped from his fingers. He let his eyes roam over her, taking in every inch and even though he'd just taken a sip from his bottle, his mouth goes dry. She watches him, and the way his eyes are lingering on her. And when she feels he's looked at her long enough to develop and answer, she takes a step forward. She shook her head because she wasn't this girl. Dressing up wasn't something she cared to do and when she did she usually needed help. This time, she went into the store and chose this dress all on her own. She only chose it because it was simple. It was black, not a lot of design going on, but it was kind of shorter than she would've liked. She knew that when she picked it out, but it was kind of becoming more evident as she stared over at her speechless husband whose eyes seemed to be glued to her legs. "I know it's—" she glanced down again letting her hands slide down the material. "Not me, and—"_

" _You're beautiful." he said and she looked at him with slightly widened eyes. He sat the bottle in his hand on the coffee table before standing to his feet and walking around the couch to her. His hands instantly grabbed her hips, pulling her closer to him. The truth was he didn't care what she wore, how much make up or what she did with her hair, she was always beautiful. "No, you're hot." he said before dipping his head planting a kiss on her lips. His lips then began trailing along her jaw causing her eyes to flutter closed._

" _We still have to go." she managed before he subtly inched her back against the wall. "If we want to—" his lips touched a very sensitive spot behind her ear eliciting a moan from her lips. Her hands moved up his back, before her fingers tangled through the back of his hair. "Bart." she half moaned because at this point she wasn't really sure if she wanted him to stop or for him to keep going. It was when she felt him pulling up the skirt of her dress, that she realized that if she didn't stop this now, she was never going to stop it and so she quickly placed her hands on top of his to stop him. "Clint Barton, we are going." he sighed dropping his forehead to her shoulder._

" _But Kat, I don't wanna." he whined before lifting his head to look into her eyes. "Mrs—" she clamped a hand over his mouth before she could finish._

" _Nope. We are going." she said before nudging him back to put some distance between them. "And you're going to smile and you're going to shake hands because that's what normal people do."_

" _I don't see any normal people around here." Clint said taking a step toward her, only for her to slip from her place between him and the wall._

" _Neither do I." she said walking over to pick up her purse. "What I do see is a very skilled former agent and a determined woman who seriously wants to give this life a chance." she turned back to him. "So fine, if you really just don't want to go, then I won't force you, but I really want to make it work here."_

" _Alright." Clint said with a nod before walking over to grab the keys to the truck before holding out his hand to her. "Let's go be Mr. and Mrs. Smith." she smiled before walking over and taking his hand. "We will make this work. I promise."_

Clint stopped walking and Steve stood a little straighter as he awaited the man's next move.

"Barton?" Clint lifted his head and looked over to the man standing there looking at him. "You ok?" It was a stupid question. One that both men recognized the moment the words were spoken.

"We weren't supposed to be here. I promised her a life." Clint turned away from Steve and looked over to the partly opened closet that held her clothes. "A life with no SHIELD, and no HYDRA, no—" he turned to Steve once again who simply stood listening. "I promised her."

"This isn't your fault." Steve said hoping Clint was really listening to him. "None of us could've prevented this."

"I could've." Clint said with a shake of his head. "I could've taken her away after Kane. I could've called some of my contacts, gone deep underground." he glanced over to Steve. "I got distracted. And every agent knows distraction is the enemy."

"But you're not an agent." Steve said and Clint's eyes seemed to darken at the statement. "Not anymore. You were a husband and a soon to be father and you were enjoying every minute of it and there is nothing wrong with that. Nobody faults you for that."

"Captain Rogers, Mr. Barton, your presence is needed on the roof." JARVIS informed and both men lifted their heads with a look of confusion. It was Clint who seemed to decipher the news first.

"Thor." the man said looking over to Steve. A small smile played at his lips. "Kat." with out another word the man rushed out of the room. Steve stood there still a bit confused, but he turned and followed.

Coulson waited patiently for the elevators to open up and when they did he almost wished they didn't. He knew that once they opened then he'd have to step inside and go to the place he really didn't want to go. Coulson took another deep sigh before stepping onto the elevator. While he was waiting, it happened again. Another memory from a time so long ago.

_He'd been walking down the halls of the SHIELD recruit sector, staring down to his phone when he got the sudden feeling that he was no longer alone. He looked to the side of him to see that she was walking along side of him._

" _Ms. Banks." he said and she turned to him and smile. "Is there something I can help you with?"_

" _Well yeah." she said moving to stop him from walking. "You could tell me why I'm here?"_

" _Excuse me."_

" _I've been here a week and I'm noticing everyday that I stick out like a sore thumb in this place." she looked over to see a few of the recruits walking past. "I mean no one here slouches." she turns back to Coulson. "Do you know how exhausting it is to stand up straight for hours on end?"_

" _I do," he said with a shake of his head before walking around her. "And not slouching is not why you have a problem." he'd been keeping tabs on her. She'd been verbally reprimanded practically everyday for failure to follow orders. "You have a problem with authority."_

" _No, I have a problem with stupid ideas." She said walking along side him. "And the teachers here all have these complexes where listening to students is unheard of." he glanced over to her with a quirked eyebrow. "And fine, maybe I do have a slight problem with authority figures."_

" _Why is that?"_

" _Long story, and this hall isn't long enough." she replied with a shake of her head. "I just wanted to make sure this wasn't some mistake. That you weren't supposed to pick the girl sitting behind me or something." Coulson stopped walking and turned to her fully._

" _Don't worry Ms. Banks, no one is here that isn't supposed to be here." Coulson said with a faint smile, but it was too hard to tell. "One day you'll understand." he turned and continued down the hall. "And there was no one sitting behind you, I checked!" he called back and Katie couldn't help but smile._

The elevator doors slid open and Coulson let out yet another deep sigh before stepping off and turning down the long dark hall way. When he reached the metal door, he leaned in as the retina scanner moved over his eye.

"Access Granted. Welcome Director." the computer spoke before the door slid open. He stepped inside only to come up to another door where he typed in a code. "Verification code accepted." that door slide open as well and Coulson walked inside the room where he found an armed agent standing beside the door. His eyes immediately went to the transparent cell that held their prisoner.

"Director," the agent said with a nod. Coulson looked over to the agent and nodded before walking over and sitting in the chair that sat in front of the cell. After one more deep breath, he rose a hand and twirled his finger for the cloaking function to be disabled. The moment it was, the prisoner's eyes lifted to him and a smile came to his face.

"You're back." he said walking over to Coulson as he always did and sitting in the chair in front of him. "What's it going to be today? More sympathy, trying to pull at my heart strings. Oh, I know more lies, Sarkissian is somewhere singing like a bird and she's pointing fingers at me." he let out a dry laugh, that seemed strange given his current state. His clothes were crumple, his right eye black and swollen. "I'm still not seeing why old eye patch handed you the baton." Coulson's expression was blank as he stared at the man.

"You killed your brother's wife Barney." Coulson finally let out. "You killed someone's wife, someone's sister, someone's friend." he dropped his eyes slightly and shook his head. "You killed someone's mother." his eyes slowly raised back to the man on the other side of the glass. "I would show you why Fury chose me, but there's a glass between us." he slid forward in his seat. "But you can trust that if this glass wasn't here, you'd see a whole other side to me." Barney shook his head with a smile as he folded his arms across his chest and sat back in his chair. "Where is Sarkissian?"

"She's probably with Carmen Sandiego at this point" the man said with a chuckle. "Hell she's probably with Waldo at this point. The thing is, I'm not sorry. You have no idea how much I wish I was there to see that look on little Sparky's face when she died." the man closed his eyes and sighed. "I wish there was a picture." he quickly opened his eyes and looked back over to Coulson. "Is there a picture? I'll tell you anything you want if you got that picture."

"You wanted to hurt him because of your girlfriend. Isabella Black."

"Do not say her name!" Barney growled in anger. "He took her away from me, on SHIELD's order and he didn't care that I was his brother. He didn't care how much she meant to me. All he cared about was being a good soldier and not disappointing papa SHIELD."

"I think the dozen or so people she killed in that bombing may have swayed his opinion of her." Coulson replied. "Or maybe it was the fact that she was planning another attack against SHIELD."

"None of that was proven, but he didn't care about that. I was his brother, I took care of him. We had each other and in the end he made his choice and so did I. Life for a life."

"Except he didn't take a life from you." Coulson said and the Barney shook his head.

"Is this the part where we play head games director? I was there. I saw the arrow in her chest."

"Yes, and it missed her heart by mere inches." Coulson said before reaching into his breast pocket and pulling out a picture. He looked down to it and Barney just continued to watch him. "She was lucky. Well not really, since death wasn't the intended purpose." Coulson lifted his eyes back to the man. "Your brother knows how to make the kill shot." he turned the picture around and pressed it against the glass. Barney leaned in as close as he could. There she was. Her long blonde hair now short. She was smiling while eating a cupcake. "And he didn't take it."

"How—" Barney forced himself to tear his eyes from the picture.

"Years of psychiatric help. Isabella was smart, an asset we decided we could use, but she had a problem and we decided to fix it." Coulson said before sliding the picture back into his pocket. "She's actually living quite well in a small town, husband, kids." Barney's face broke off into a deep frown. "She never asked about you. Not even once." Barney brought his eyes back to the man.

"You're lying. This is a lie." Coulson simply shrugged before standing to his feet.

"Maybe, maybe not. But I think deep down you know I'm telling the truth." Coulson looked around the cell and shook his head. "I wouldn't get used to all this." he turned back to Barney. "Tomorrow is your last chance. You don't give me something then I'm going release you into the custody of your brother. I just don't think he's going to be as warm as I am." and with that Coulson turned and headed for the door.

"Wait!" Barney called and Coulson stopped and turned back to him. "Is Belle really alive?"

"She is." Coulson said with a nod. Barney turned away still trying to come to terms with the new information. "Mr. Barton, I—"

"Sit down." Barney said turning back to the director. "Please." Barney was about to begin when Coulson phone rang. He held up a finger for the the man to hold on a second before he stood to his feet and walked away from the cell.

"Doctor, I thought you were gathering your things preparing to leave."

_"I was, but I thought I should tell you something's happening." Franklin replied._

"What do you mean? What's happening?"

_"Something's here." Franklin said as he watched Bruce and Matthew rush onto a nearby elevator. "Or should I say someone's here."_

Coulson lifted his eyes and they were wide for a moment as he let the implications wash over him. He didn't want to get too excited until he knew something for sure.

"Franklin, I want you to keep me informed, do you understand?"

" _Yes sir."_

"And Franklin?"

"Yes sir?"

"As soon as you find out anything, I expect you to call me." Coulson's voice was serious enough for Franklin to stand just a little straighter as they spoke.

_"Yes sir, director."_

Tony was hiding away in his office, sitting at his desk with an empty glass and bottle sitting in front of him. The lights were dim and no sound had passed through the room. He doesn't know why, but a sudden thought passes in his mind and he lifts his head.

"JARVIS, are the files extracted from Katie's flash still in your system?"

"Yes sir, would you like me to open them?" JARVIS asked and Tony didn't say anything right away. Those files were hers. He really had no business opening them. Then it struck him again. She was gone and there was a chance there really were answers buried somewhere in those files.

"Yeah, open it up." Tony said and suddenly the holographic screen appeared in front of him. He began scrolling through the files when one in particular caught his eyes. "No way." he leaned in slightly closer to make sure he really was seeing what he thought he was seeing. "JARVIS open file marked H. Stark part one."

"As you wish sir."

The screen opened to grainy footage of what looked like someone's nose. Tony sat up a little straighter as the video seemed to clear up.

" _Tell me again why we need to record this?" a female voice_ _asked. Tony noted a slight accent in her voice, but his attention went to the man who had appeared on the screen who seemed to be fiddling with the camera._

" _I told you Cindy, all great artists’_ _work should be recorded so people down the ages can marvel on my genius." Howard said as he stepped back, and straightened his tie. He gave the camera a bright smile and a snort could be heard from somewhere off camera. His face dropped into a scowl that he turned to someone not shown on the camera. "Keep your noises to yourself Cindy."_

_"I'm sorry Mr. Stark, it's just I'm finding it hard to be here." the woman said with a cough. "I think your ego is sucking all the air from the room." she cough again, only this one morphing into a laugh, that brought a smile to Howard's face._

" _It's been six months Cindy, how long are you going to keep up this Mr. Stark crap?" the man asked turning back to the camera and fiddling with something again. "We're practically married. I see you more than I see my own wife."_

" _You know I was going to ask you about that, what are you doing here?" the woman asked just as Howard finally expanded the frame allowing more of the lab to be seen and that included the dark haired woman whose back was to the camera as she typed on a computer._

" _I work here." Howard said._

" _That's not what I meant and you know it." the woman said turning to him. "Why are you here instead of being home, with your wife and new baby?" Howard rolled his eyes before turning away from her._

" _Did you know babies cry?" Howard asked and Cynthia couldn't help but laugh. "It's not funny. They cry and cry and I don't know if Tony got the worst of it or what, but that kid just will not shut up."_

Tony couldn't help the smile that tugged on his lips. Even as a child he took pleasure in annoying his father.

" _Well Mr. Stark." the woman said turning fully. It was then that her familiar face became visible._

Tony's eyes widened as he stared at the pair. It was his father and Katie's mother.

" _I'm not sure if you were aware of this before you stuck your man parts in her woman parts—" Howard laughed with a shake of his head. "But babies cry since that's how they can communicate. It's how they tell you that they're hungry, or sleepy or that they need their diaper changed or that they just want to be held."_

" _And when you do all those things and he still cries, what then?"_

" _Ear plugs." Cynthia said giving the man a playful slap to the arm before turning back to the computer. "As a woman I think you should know I think what you're doing, hiding out here while your wife—"_

" _And nannies." Howard interrupted. "I didn't just abandon her. She has help. Help I wouldn't provide even if I was there." he turned and moved to stand beside her. "So how about we stop giving opinions on my life until you stop calling me Mr. Stark?" She turned to him and simply nodded. They worked in silence after that, standing side by side for most of time. "So are you and monkey man planning on having some rug rats of your own?"_

" _You can't ask that." Cynthia said before moving away from him to work at another station. Howard gave her a perplexed look before sauntering over to stand beside her._

" _And why not?" he asked returning to his spot close beside her. She turned to him with a look. "What?"_

" _You can't ask me that because I know you don't like my husband. You mock him for being an agent or for not being as smart as you think you are."_

" _Hey one, I am as smart as I think I am and two, it's not that I don't like him, I just don't—" he lifted his head as if trying to think of the word. "Get him. You, I get. We're kindred spirits you and I. I mean in another life you'd probably even be Mrs. Stark." Cynthia couldn't help the roar of laughter that spilled from her lips. "What?"_

" _No, it's just sometimes I forget how full of yourself you are." she said before turning to the camera. "People of the future, I'm sorry you have to be apart of this." she shook her head before moving around him to another work station. Howard simply turned to the camera and smiled._

" _People of the future, you're welcome."_

" _Will you turn that off and get to work?" Cynthia called over her shoulder to Howard who simply rolled his eyes._

" _Yes, Mistress." he sighed dramatically before typing a few keys and then the screen goes black._

Tony leaned back in his seat still trying to come to grips with what he just saw. It was very strange to see his father so...so much like himself. Or maybe it was the other way around. It was also very strange to see something so familiar. Their friendship was practically like his and Katie.

"Maybe it was meant to be." Tony muttered to himself.

"Sir—" JARVIS said flicking the lights on. "There seems to be a breach to the tower." JARVIS pulled up a surveillance video from the roof, which showed Natasha standing with her arm up to cover her eye from what looked like a beam of light from the sky directed right above the roof. Tony recognized it instantly.

"He's here." Tony said standing to his feet already heading for the door. "JARVIS, call the others, tell them to come to the roof."

"Yes sir."

They were out of breath. Thor, Sif, the Warriors Three, were sprawled on their backs staring up to the ever growing strange purple mass of clouds in the sky. It took a lot of effort, more effort than they thought the had, but today, this battle, they lived up to their names. The beasts that had attacked them were fierce adversaries, but not fierce enough. Thor and his comrades fought with everything they had and the beasts recognized a unwindable battle. And so with half of their brethren fallen on the battlefield, the others ran into hiding.

"I can't believe we actually did it." Fandral said, his chest heaving as he tries to regain his breaths. He turned his head to Sif who lie beside him. "You really are a good warrior." she turned her head giving him a quizzical look. "For a girl." she threw her fist as hard as she could to his arm causing him to hiss in pain.

"We can't stay here." Sif said being the first to stand to her feet. "They could be regrouping, planning a second wave of attack." she turned to Thor who stood to his feet as well. "Where do start looking?"

"Father said well shall find the spring at the edge of this realm." Thor said letting his eyes scan over the land that surrounded them. There was nothing but a darkened, wet forest.

"Which could be anywhere." Fandral said jumping to his feet. "The Allfather only told of legend, a story that has never been proven. We don't know if the spring of life even exists."

"We don't know that it doesn't either." Thor countered with an obvious annoyance in his tone. Fandral chose to play the devil's advocate, which was starting to get on Thor's nerves. "Katherine, mustn't die—"

"Why because you found a scroll that says something interlocks her life with ours?" Fandral asked. "In all of our ages when have you ever known such a thing to be possible. A midgardian whose life is tied to ours in such a way that could cause this." he looked up to the sky. "This is what we should be focusing on. This and what is causing it." he looked back to Thor as he pointed a finger to the sky. "That is important. That is where our attention should lie, not on some—"

"You should choose the next words out of your mouth very carefully my friend." Thor took a few steps toward the man, only for Sif to catch his arm. "I know what I'm asking of you is far greater than I've ever asked you before. I'm asking you to believe in something that you can't see." Thor dropped his head as he reached under his chest plate and pulled out the folded scroll. "This scroll talks of Midgardian whose hand shall touch the other realms."

"Which is impossible!" Fandral practically yelled, his voice stirring a flock of nearby birds.

"Let us be calm," Sif said glancing between the two men before turning back to Fandral. "There is no harm in testing this theory."

"The harm comes with time. Time which we seem to be running out of." Fandral replied said cutting his eye back to Thor. "I understand that she is your friend, and that she was a great warrior, but we do not grant the option of life over death. We do not—we can not wield such power."

"You are right, but we can undo that of which was not meant to be. Heimdall was clear with what he witnessed. Her death was not natural."

"Why is it our responsibility to undo it?"

"I hope I haven't misguided you in thinking that your presence here is mandatory. No one—" he glanced to his comrades, making sure to look each and everyone in their eyes. "No one has to be here if they do not wish. I wouldn't want it, because no one can win the fight they don't believe should be fought." he turned back to Fandral. "If you wish to leave, then no one will stop you." he turned as he looked down to his hammer that began glowing. "That goes for all of you." and with that Thor chose to follow the direction of his hammer. Sif, Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg stood glancing to each other for just a moment before Volstagg let out a heavy sigh.

"He has not lead us down a path that we have not been able to travel yet." Volstagg said with a nod. "I don't think now is any different." and with that the warrior turned and went to follow after the prince.

"He's right." Hogun added looking between Sif and Fandral. "We can either do this or do nothing. I choose this." and with that the man turned and followed as well.

Sif and Fandral stood staring at each other for a moment before Fandral turned away.

"He's being unreasonable, he's not thinking—"

"I think he is." Sif interrupted and the man turned to her. "It's just not what we're used to. Since his time on Midgard, he's been different." the woman took a step toward Fandral placing her right in front of him. "It's all a coincidence right? That this all starts-" she looks up to the sky. "The moment her heart stopped." she looked back to Fandral who glanced up to the sky as well. "We have to at least figure out why." Fandral brought his eyes back to the woman in front of him. The woman whose wisdom he's had the pleasure to endure for ages. "Right?" he stared at her for a moment and she could practically see the questions still pouncing around in his head. He let out sighed before nodding.

"What of her family?" Fandral asked unexpectantly and Sif turned with a slight shrug. "They deserve to know what's happening. He has given them a hope he does not know if he can promise." he lifted his eyes to the direction to where the others had went and shook his head. "He was right about one thing. I can't find belief in this fight and I think until I do, I should probably step back." he turned back to Sif who eyed him. "I will go to Midgard to let her family know of Thor's plans and then I'll return to Asgard to see if I can be of any help there."

"I will let the others know." Sif replied with a nod. Fandral nodded as well before taking a step back and lifting his head to the sky.

"Heimdall, to Midgard if you will." the man asked and instantly he was sucked up into a funnel of light and gone before Sif could say anything else.

Fandral appeared some place strange. He turned and from what he was looking at, the tops of building and people moving about, he had to be up high.

"Who—" a voice spoke suddenly and he quickly turned to see a woman standing just feet away. "Who are you?" In true gentleman fashion Fandral dropped his head and slightly bowed before the maiden.

"I am—" before he could finish his introduction a door burst open and out ran a group of people he didn't recognize. He turned with a slight smile, when one of the men pushed foward and it was then did Fandral realize that he did recognize him. His smile fell as he took a couple of steps forward.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing on my Tower?" Tony asked and Fandral turned to him as his eyes looked up to the sky before looking back to him. "Where's Thor?" Fandral looked between their faces and could see that really wasn't the question they wanted answered.

"Where's Kat?" the other man asked and Fandral could've sworn the man's name was Clint. The one he remembered from his last visit to Midgard.

"My apologies." Fandral said with a slight shake of his head. "Thor would be here but he is determined to bring back Lady Katherine."

"Bring back?" Clint asked with a frown. "So she's still—" Fandral simply nodded and Clint dropped his head for a moment before turning and pushing past the others. Fandral stood there for a moment as he realized his presence would probably cause more problems for these people than he anticipated.

"I should go." Fandral said taking a step back.

"Wait!" he looked up to see Tony walking toward him. "First, hi, Tony Stark, I own—" he glanced around with a wave of his hand. "This." He turned back to Fandral. "I'm also someone who cares very much about Lady Katherine, so if you don't mind going into incredible detail about what Thor's doing and why he thinks he can bring her back, I would greatly appreciate it." Fandral simply stared at the man, before letting his eyes roam over the others as they stood waiting for him to continue.

Loki found himself just staring at her for a few moments before turning his eyes away. He began pacing once again.

"You should really thank me." he said glancing over to her as he walked. "If it not for me, then your heart truly would've stopped beating." there was a cracking of thunder and he went to a nearby balcony and looked up to abnormal clouds that hovered above. "I did not foresee this though." he looked over his shoulder to her, still lying surrounded by the force field. It still puzzled him. It was obvious that something was happening. There was practically a slight change in the air, but he didn't know what it was. He walked back over to her and stared once again as if searching for something. Her current state was his doing. An illusion to make it seem as if she were not breathing.

_He was watching the whole time through his own personal looking glass which happened to be in the form of a mirror. A great leader knows all, and so Loki made sure to keep his eyes open and ever so often they landed on her. Much more than usual since learning of a prophecy that foretold her end which would trigger adverse side effects. He probably would've learned more if his patience for the mad seer wasn't as thin as it was, but there was no taking that back now. As he sat watching her, first being captured by some sort of Midgard government agency, and then taken once again by some woman. Loki found himself unable to look away. She didn't seem scared. He called her mad, but he had no doubt it was just strength. The one forced upon her by life. Her eyes never left the woman, her captor, as she sat with her hands crossed over her large belly protectively._

" _So that's why you need my mother," Katie said and the woman glared over to her. "You're sick." It was at this point that something happened to Loki that rarely if ever happened. He got a chill which is something that still felt strange to the frost giant._

" _Alright, enough of this." the Asgardian muttered before and in the blink of an eye he was sitting in the front seat of a car._

" _What the—" the driver nearly jumped out of his skin when he laid eyes on the man. "Who—" Loki's hand shot out grabbing the side of his face, a slight blue hue of light seeped from his hands to the man's face. The driver simply closed his eyes, and let his head fall back against the seat._

" _What the hell is going on?" a voice yelled from behind the partition behind him and a smile tugged at his lips. "Why are we stopped?!" the partition began lowering and in a flash he was gone. He stood across the street staring at car now resting in the middle of the intersection. His eyes trail to the large truck heading at full speed right toward them. His nature caused him to lift a hand jamming the door and not allowing her to leave. Loki thought he knew who he was. He thought he knew what he believed, but as he stood there staring at her end he found himself questioning so much. So when he dropped his hand, and flicked his wrist to open the door, even he was surprised. She stepped out of the car and began running, and then a stroke of genius hit him and before he could overthink it he appeared in front of her causing her to come to a sliding stop. Her eyes were wide as she stood in front of him and he couldn't help but be a little proud in shocking her into a speechless state._

" _Impossible." she muttered as her eyes searched over him as if searching for something. "You're-" the truck struck the car and both their eyes turned to the wrecked car nearly split in half by the semi. Loki began moving toward her, and it was his footsteps that caused her to turn back to him. She tried to back away but her feet were frozen until he was standing right in front of her. "You're dead." his lips pulled into a smile as he leaned toward her._

" _You and I both know death doesn't necessarily mean the end." he said before placing a hand on the side of her face._

" _What are you doing?"_

" _Solving the puzzle that is you." he said as he watched the her skin turn a light shade of blue, before her eyes seemed to roll back into her head. He quickly reached forward to catch before she could fall, but he simply laid her on the ground. Loki stood there for a moment, looking at her chest that neither rose nor fell and a chuckle escaped his lips before a strike of lightening crashed above him. The smile was replaced with a frown at the thought of his brother finding him. It was then that he looked up to the sky at the clouds that did not seem normal. That wasn't Thor. He knew that instantly. His eyes went back down to Katie with a furrowed brow. His interests were definitely piqued. He lifted his head when another stroke of genius hit him. Another mischievous smirk tugged at his lips. He glanced back down to Katie once more. "I think I will be seeing you soon mad woman."_

_And the rest was simple from there. Tell Thor of the tragedy that fell upon his dearest lady Katherine, and then dangle a carrot of hope._

" _There may be a way." Loki said in his father's form. Thor stood in front of him with a look of sadness that fell the moment he spoke. "A legend, one that has never been proven."_

" _What is it father?"_

" _There is a spring. One that is told to have healing abilities." Loki dropped his head dramatically and shook his head. "No one has ever found it's location, but—" he paused for dramatic effect._

" _But what father?"_

_Loki had to fight the smirk from coming to his lips as his brother played into plans perfectly. He lifted his head with the seriousness of the Allfather._

" _There were stories of a traveler who is told to have found the spring. Now this is a story of a story, passed on through generations, so it's validity does come into question." His eyes looked over to Katie's body that laid surrounded by the healers. "The traveler found this spring and fed it's water to his fallen comrade who is told to have resurrected before his eyes." he brought his eyes back to Thor who seemed to be holding on to every word he was speaking. "In my entire life, I have seen magic do many things, resurrection has always been a tough ability to muster." he shook his head. "I wouldn't even tell you about this if not for—" he once again paused very dramatically._

" _If not for what father?" Thor asked, the curiosity written all over his face. Loki turned and walked over to a nearby table where he picked up a scroll._

" _Since the appearance and then death of our mysterious seer, I've had some my advisers looking into her allegations." Loki turned and walked back over Thor handing him the scroll. Thor unraveled the scroll that seemed to be torn in half. "The other half seems to be missing, but that half speaks of a being whose hand shall touch all realms. A being whose heart shall beat for all and if stopped shall end all." it was the only true statement in this moment. He did have the advisers research and this scroll, whatever it's origin, was found. Thor let his eyes scan over the scroll which read in a language he did not recognize before looking back up to his father. "That scroll was written by a seer who was my father's closest adviser. Now I don't know if this and Lady Katherine are connected, but stars seem to be aligning my son." Thor looked back down to the scroll and Loki waited to see if his brother was as gullible as he knew he was._

" _Where shall I find this spring Father?" Thor asked with determination in his eyes and Loki once again had to fight the smile that threatened to come to his lips._

Loki stared at Katie for just a moment longer before he waved a hand above her and the force field around her disappeared leaving nothing between them now.

"Time to wake up." he said as he placed his hand to her cheek. He watched the side of her cheek turn blue, but without warning a sudden heat struck his hand causing him to pull away suddenly. Loki looked down to her body before looking down to his hand. Even he knew there were parts of his abilities that he didn't quite understand, especially the half of him that belonged to the Frost Giants. He simply rubbed his hands together before trying again. His hand touched her cheek and once again it felt like he had touched fire. He drew his hand back quickly and took a step back with a frown. There was another strike of lightening from outside, but he didn't turn away. He stared at her trying to figure out what the hell did he do to her.

_**Somewhere very close to Knowhere...** _

It was the humming sound right beneath her ear that Katie noticed first. Then something dry and rough touched her ankle and her eyes snapped open.

"Oh, I think she's alive." a voice spoke. It was a voice Katie was sure she'd never heard before.

"Good, maybe now we can finally get some answers." another voice said. That voice also unfamiliar. "Hey, lady who are you and where did you come from?!" Katie turned her head slowly and in that moment realized she was either dreaming or very, very heavily medicated. Because there was no way that there standing in front of her was a man, a woman whose skin was unusually green, and a large bald man whose body seemed to be covered in weird symbols.

"Lady," a voice said and Katie eyes slowly moved to a raccoon, yes that's right a raccoon, standing in front of her. He waved a tiny hand in front of her wide eyes. "So Quill, any ideas where this loon came from?" he turned to the man who still stared down to the woman. "I mean do women usually mysteriously appear on your ship out of nowhere?"

"No this is a first." Peter said squatting in front of Katie whose eyes couldn't be pried from the talking raccoon. "Lady—" he follows her eyes to Rocket trying to figure out why she's staring.

"Wouldya stop staring!" Rocket the Racoon snapped and she didn't even flinch. He shook his head. "We don't have time for some crazy broad who doesn't speak. I vote we toss her off." he pushed his way past Peter and Gamora back to the ship's controls. Peter looked over to Gamora who seemed to be staring inquisitively at the woman.

"Do you know her?" Peter asked and Gamora turned to him and shook her head.

"No, she just seems—" she turned back to her. "I don't know." Peter tossed up his hands in frustration before standing to his feet.

"I don't know either and any other time I'd want to investigate, but Rocket's right. We don't have time for this." Peter said glancing down to Katie who still just stared unblinking. "I say we drop her off her off on Knowhere and—" there were heavy footsteps that Katie could feel from her place on the floor. She lifted her head and there walking toward her was what she could only describe as a walking tree. It moved to stand in front of her, and the man, Quill the raccoon called him, and the green lady stepped aside as the tree-man-person-thing bent forward and smiled at her.

"I am Groot." he says and she doesn't know why but she smiles back before her eyes close and she once again passes out.

"Like I was saying, when we get to Knowhere, I say we just toss her—" the tree thing turned in front of Katie, crossing it's arms over his chest.

"I am Groot."

"What do you mean she's not going anywhere." Rocket says coming back over to stand in front of his friend. "We just broke out of the pen and this—" he points to the unconscious woman on the floor. "This pregnant broad does not fit into this plan." he looks back up to Groot who stands firm. "She goes."

"I am Groot."

"I don't care about what you feel, I—"

"I—" Groot says his voice taking on a slightly deeper tone as he bends his body so his face is so close to Rocket’s, the animal can practically see his reflection in Groot's eyes. "Am. Groot." Rocket stood there folding his own arms over his chest not backing down, but neither was Groot. After a few moments Rocket realized the loosing battle.

"Fine!" the Raccoon says tossing his hands up in frustration. "But she is your responsibility." he turns and heads back over to the controls.

"Wait, what?" Peter says looking between Rocket and Groot after watching one of the strangest conversations he has ever seen. "What's happening now?"

"Well now we have to deal with that!" Rocket said pointing to Katie on the on the floor. "Now we figure out a way this plan works with her in it!"

"What, no, no—" Peter started but Groot took a step toward the man who held his hands up in surrender. "Alright, maybe—" he turns to Gamora who simply shrugs. "Alright if she doesn't get in the way then she can stay." he looks back over to Groot who simply smiles. "We have a deal?"

"I am Groot."

"Still not sure what that means, but I'm going to take it as a yes."


	36. Chapter 36

Trees and raccoons don't open their mouths and speak. There was no ifs, ands or butts about it, it just isn't possible. Katie just knew she was dreaming. She just knew that when she opened her eyes, she'd be lying in bed and all of this would prove to just be a dream. Her body jerked and her eyes snapped open. It was then that she realized she wasn't in her bed. Her body was lying on a metal grate.

"Be wary headed in, rodent. There are no regulations whatsoever here." a female voice spoke and Katie turned and began sitting up again. She was still on the ship and there sitting beside her was the giant tree, staring at her smiling.

"I am Groot." the tree spoke and the green woman and the man turned to see Katie sitting there staring back to the tree.

"Right, so how do we explain the strange pregnant chick who doesn't talk?"

"I talk," Katie said tilting her head slightly as she found herself totally enamored by Groot. "I'm just finding it difficult to vocalize my thoughts right now." she turned to the man and began trying to stand to her feet. It was then that Groot quickly stood and held out a limb to her. Katie stared at it for a moment, and against all reason she took it and let him help her up. "Thank you."

"I am Groot."

"Groot, right. I think I got it." Katie said with a nod before turning to the others. "So am I dead, because if I am, I have to tell you the after life is definitely not like anything I've ever seen." she walked over to a nearby window that revealed what looked like a severed head. She brought her hand to her stomach. "This seems so real."

"Hey lady." Katie turned to see the Raccoon at the wheel of the ship. "I don't know where you've been, but this is real." Katie stared at the the animal with a look of total bewilderment. "What the hell are you looking at?"

"A talking raccoon apparently." Katie muttered before turning and walking away. She had no idea where she was going, but she hoped that at some point she would wake up. A hand touched her shoulder and she turned to see the green woman. "I really wish I would wake up now."

"What is your name?" the woman asked.

"I'm—"

"I don't really care what her name is." Peter said moving to stand beside Gamora. "What I want to know is how the hell did you get on my damn ship!" Katie turned to him, the only normal looking one out of the bunch and just shrugged.

"Look guy, chill, once I wake up, I—" he moved quickly, planting himself in front of her before placing his hands on her shoulders.

"This is not a dream!" he snapped and Katie blinked rapidly as she let the implications of his words sink. "You're here, on my ship and I want to know how?" Katie turned her head to his hands on her shoulders which she could feel. "Hey, would you—"

"Stop talking!" she snapped turning back to Peter. "For one second stop talking." she closed her eyes trying to remember everything before ending up on this ship. She remembers being in the CIA headquarters and then Sarkissian and her goons taking her and then...then everything goes blank. "I don't know how I got here." Katie said opening her eyes and meeting the man's darkened gaze. "That's the truth, I mean—" she looked over to the window. "The last thing I remember was being stared down by this crazy bitch and then I was here. " she turned back to Peter who still watched her closely. He was watching her, trying to see any indication that she wasn't telling the truth. "So at this point your guess is as good as mine." Groot walked over beside her and her eyes seemed to follow him.

"I am Groot."

"Not a big vocabulary, huh?" she asked and he smiled wide. "So you're Groot." she turned to the man in front of her. "Quill?" he didn't say anything for a moment before nodding.

"Peter." he replied. "Peter Quill, but I go by Starlord." Katie looked at him for a moment with a quirked eyebrow. "What?"

"Seriously? Starlord?"

"What, that's a good, strong name." he replied. "You know whatever." he shook his head before turning and walking back over to the controls where the raccoon was. Katie turned to the green woman who was staring at her in a way as if trying to figure out something.

"And you're—"

"Gamora." the woman said and Katie nodded. The woman's eyes trailed to Katie's stomach. "You're with child." Katie glanced down and nodded. "A human?" Katie looked back up to the woman with a furrowed brow.

"Uh, yeah. Or at least I hope so." Katie said and noticed the slight look of offense that crossed the woman's face. "I mean, not that there would be anything wrong with—" Katie shook her head and just sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm just—I'm trying to figure this out."

"Well you're going to have to figure it out far, far away from us." Rocket said walking from the controls toward. "We're handling some business, and some mysteriously appearing broad doesn't fit. So beat it."

"Hey, I—" before Katie could even finish the sentence, Groot had moved to stand in front of her.

"Don't look at me like that!" Rocket snapped glaring up to his friend. "I don't care if you have a crush, she's going to slow us down and that can't happen. Not now." Groot tilted his head as he looked down to his small friend.

"I am Groot."

"What do you mean she's supposed to be here?" the animal asked. Groot simply smiled before turning to Katie who wasn't quite sure what she was witnessing. "If she messes this up for us Groot—"

"I am Groot."

"Yeah, yeah." Rocket muttered before turning to Katie. "Listen, you keep your mouth closed and you stay out of the way, got it? We have a lot riding on this stone."

"Or—" Katie said turning from the talking animal that was slowly making her question her sanity. She chose to look at the only human on the ship. "How about I just go away to find a way back—" Rocket's words were finally catching up to her as she turned back to him. "Stone?"

"Don't even think about it!" he snapped. "You're not getting cut in." Once the ship was finally placed Rocket walked over to a wall of controls and press a but that began to open the door. Katie turned back to Peter.

"What stone?"

"Just forget about it lady." He said before turning and climbing down a ladder. Katie turned to Gamora who simply shook her head before turning and walking off too. Katie’s last hope was to the bald man who hadn't done anything but stare since she arrived.

"Do you know what stone he's talking about?" she asked and the man didn't say anything. He did walk over to her, and the fact that this guy was pretty huge was becoming that more obvious with every step he took. Katie didn't move, she wasn't going to show even an ounce of intimidation, even though she was freaking out on the inside. The man stood there, his eyes only on hers before holding out his hand to her. He was so close, giving Katie a good look at his unusually blue eyes.

"Drax the Destroyer." he said. Katie glanced down to his hand before once again she probably shouldn't. She took his hand, even squeezing it firmly as they shook. He smiles slightly and she simply quirked and eyebrow.

"I'm—"

"This isn't your realm." he said and Katie's eyes widened for a moment. "You should probably keep your name to yourself." she had no response other than a nod before he too turned and walked away.

Soon they were off the ship giving Katie a look at a very strange world indeed. The place, Knowhere, she remembers hearing, looks like a place from a post apocalyptic space movie. Everything was just dark and dingy, including the people. Katie chose to stick close to the only ally she had, and that was the giant talking tree. At the moment, her attention was on Gamora who seemed to be telling them about exactly where they were.

"Hundreds of years ago, the Tivan Group sent workers in to mine the organic matter within the skull. The bone, brain tissue, spinal fluid." Katie frowned at the thought and turned to the array of colored liquids about. It was beginning to dawn on her that she was actually in a scull right now. "All of the rare resources, highly valued in black markets across the galaxy. It's dangerous and illegal work, suitable only for outlaws."

"Well, I come from a planet of outlaws. Billy the Kid, Bonnie and Clyde and John Stamos." Peter said and Katie had to snort. He looked over his shoulder with a quirked eyebrow.

"Sorry, I guess I've never gotten the whole outlaw vibe from Uncle Jessie." she shook her head as they continued walking.

"You're from earth?" Peter asked and Katie nodded. "Then how did you get here?"

"Yeah, remember, we're still trying to answer that question." Katie said with a roll of her eyes. "I don't know why I'm here or how I got here. All I know is that I'm here, with all of you and maybe that's for a reason, so fine, I'll keep quiet, I'll stay out of the way." her eyes landed on a pool of a neon yellow fluid being stirred and she felt her stomach turn. "But I need to go back home." she turned back to him. "You're busy, fine, but at some point I'm going to have to get home."

"We'll do what we can." Peter said with a nod before turning and following behind Gamora. Katie felt something nudge her leg, and she looked down to see Rocket glaring up at her.

"And when he says we, he means everyone except me, got it?"

"You know I don't understand how you're possible, but I think you should know that I like you." Katie said with a slight smile. "You got spunk Rocky."

"It's Rocket." he countered in annoyance before moving past them.

"Rocky's better!" she called after him when a group of children ran over the Raccoon.

"Can you spare any units?" the small girl asked and the Raccoon simply waved her away with a 'get out of here' as he kept walking. The girl ran over to where Katie stood beside Groot with her hand held out. The tree simply bent down with an open palm and Katie watched as a small flower bloomed. He picked it and handed it to the girl who simply smiled before her and her friends ran away.

"That was nice." Katie said as she looked up to Groot who smiled to her. Katie stared into his eyes for a moment. "Why do I get the feeling you know more about why I'm here than you're letting on."

"I am Groot." was his expected reply. Katie simply shook her head before they turned to catch up to the others.

The others stood staring at what looked like a bar. Katie walked over letting her eyes roam over everything. She was here and there had to be a reason. That's what she kept telling herself. She had to believe that this wasn't random.

"Your buyer's in there?" Rocket asked as they looked over to the bar. Gamora simply nodded as she looked up as well.

"We are to wait here for his representative." the woman said just as a bouncer tossed someone out of the bar.

"This is no respectable establishment." Drax says and they all turned to him. "What do you expect us to do while we wait?"

"We could always go inside." Rocket suggested as he looked up to the bar. "I mean I've been dying for a drink." he glances up to Groot. "What do you say buddy?" Groot smiles with a nod. Rocket turns to Drax who stares warily at the bar. "C'mon, you look like you could use a drink." the man turns to the rodent before nodding. Peter turns to Gamora who nods. They all headed for the bar, except for Katie who didn't move. It was Groot who noticed first, which is why he stopped and turned to her.

"I'm sorry Groot, but I'm not here to bar hop." she says letting her eyes roam over the area. "I don't know why I'm here, but I at least have to figure it out, right?" he walked back over to her, easily towering over her.

"I am Groot." he spoke and Katie smiled with a nod.

"Thanks for understanding." she said before watching the large tree turn and walk away. Once he was gone, she was alone, in a strange place, with no idea which way to turn. So when someone tapped her shoulder, she nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned and had to take a slight step back at the sight of a woman whose skin was completely pink. "Seriously where the hell am I?" she muttered to herself as she watched the woman who simply stared with a smile.

"My apologies for startling you." the woman said with a slight curtsy. "I'm here to bring you to my master."

"Your master?" Katie asked with obvious confusion. She stared at the woman, unable to hide her suspicion. "Look, I think you have the wrong—"

"Katherine." the woman spoke and Katie's eyes widen slightly. "You're who I'm searching for." the woman gestured for her to follow. "Please come with me. My master doesn't really like to wait." Katie looked around still hesitant as she watched the woman who'd already began walking.

"Alright baby." Katie muttered as a hand slid across her belly. "Let's hope mama's gut isn't steering us wrong." Katie looked back up and began trailing after the woman.

The entire place was extremely strange in Fandral's opinion. Big, but he's seen bigger of course, but it was definitely different. He stood near a large window that seemed to look out to all the land of New York when he heard the foot steps behind him. He turned to see Tony, Bruce and Steve.

"I've told you everything I know." Fandral said solemnly knowing nothing he's told them would give them any peace of mind. "I wish I had more."

"Wait, wait." Tony said taking a step forward. After Fandral recounted what was taking place in Asgard he had so many questions that Fandral answered as best he could and then he asked them again. "You said if this spring or whatever actually exists, it could bring her back."

"Maybe, but I can't verify something I've never seem." Fandral shook his head with a sigh. "If Thor was here he would convince you that this would work, that there was still hope."

"And you?" Steve asked and the asgardian met the man's gaze. "What would you say?"

"I would say Katherine was a fierce warrior, but even the fiercest warriors meet their end at some point." Fandral said and he noticed how all three men visibly deflated. "I'm not here to steal your hope, and I'm definitely not here to tell you to give up, because even I can't do that. Not completely. What I can tell you is that I've known Thor practically my whole life, I've fought with him and I know that even when I don't understand them, his instincts are usually right." Fandral turned back to the large window as he thought over those words and how many times he's followed Thor in situations even he thought were idiotic and then turned out quite differently. "I'm saying it's not over until it is." Fandral turned back to the three men. "I'm saying this isn't over yet. She isn't gone yet. Take those words and hold onto them."

Not much happened after that. Fandral said his farewells and then they parted ways. He stood on the roof of the tower and looked over the city and had to admit that even though it was completely different from Asgard, it did hold a certain beauty. He lifted his head to the sky and sighed.

"Heimdall, if you wouldn't mind." and without another word, a familiar light appeared in the sky and in mere moments he was home. He turned to the all seeing being with a quirked brow. "So, have they found it?"

"Not yet." Heimdall replied and Fandral simply shook his head with a sigh. "He won't give up."

"I know, he'll keep trying. Even when he shouldn't." Fandral said before beginning his trek along the rainbow bridge toward the castle.

Loki stood unsure what to do, which someone in his position is definitely not a good thing. He turned quickly and headed for the table that held his mother's books. His mother had taught him all she knew of magic, and he believed himself skilled in all things magic, but he knew when it came to his Frost Giant lineage, nothing was ever certain. He read over the spell he used, and he couldn't find where his error could've occurred. Then it struck him. He turned toward the window where the abnormal clouds still floated above.

"What have I done?" he muttered to himself.

Katie followed the woman, and the moment they stepped inside the doors, she wished she hadn't. It was like some sort of twisted museum. There were glass cases lining the walls, filled with things she's never seen before.

"Who is your master?" Katie asked wishing she'd asked earlier. The woman glanced over her shoulder not bothering to stop walking.

"Taneleer Tivan." the woman said. Katie didn't even recognize the name. "He's the collector." Katie looked around and thought the name was fitting. She wanted to stop and look closely at some of the artifacts because they just looked so weird and so interesting at the same time. It was the dog dressed as an astronaut that caused her to stop.

"Why am I here?" Katie asked turning to the woman who suddenly stops and turns to her.

"You're here because I just had to meet you." a voice echoed around them. Soon they heard heavy footsteps before he appeared. Katie watched the man closely, not sure why he made her uneasy. He looked strange, but so did everyone else she'd came in contact with since she's appeared in this place. It was his eyes that found her drawn. They were white, but dark at the same time.

"You must be the collector." Katie said and she noted the smile that came to the mans face as he took a couple of steps toward her. "Do you know why I'm here?"

"I do." he said and Katie stood waiting more. "What do you think of my collections?" Katie's brow furrowed at the sudden topic change. She followed his eyes as he marveled at his things. "You have no idea how long it's taken to acquire so much."

"Ok," Katie drawled and he turned back to her. "Look, I’m some how in a different realm and at the moment you're the only one who knows anything, so excuse me when I say I could give a rats ass about your collection."

"You should." he said before turning and walking off. Katie stood there in confusion before deciding to follow after him.

"What are you talking about?" she asked and he simply smirked.

The door to Clint and Katie's apartment was wide open, and so Natasha walked in. She heard movement from the bedroom and went to find the source. When she stepped inside, he was walking out of the closet tossing clothes into a black duffle bag that sat on the bed.

"What are you doing?" she asked and he merely glanced up to her before stuffing the clothes in the bag.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he muttered before walking back over to the closet. "I'm packing my things, then I'm going to call Coulson and have him place me somewhere." he was walking back out to the bag when Natasha moved to step in front of him. "Move." She didn't move, she stood there and looked into his eyes. They were so damn sad that she could barely stand it, but she had to.

"You can't run from this."

"Nat move."

"No matter how far you go, you won't run away from this." he tried to side step her, to get away from her and this conversation, but she wouldn't let him. "When you found me, I was—" she swallowed the lump in her throat as memories she wished would dissolved with time assaulted her. "I was broken. I was used, undone and—" the words were like nails on her tongue. She didn't want to say the things that shouldn't be said. That shouldn't be remembered. "You found me and you—" she met his eyes that were now twitching with an emotion she knew he was fighting. "You saved me and I promised that every chance that I got, I would repay the favor." she reached out and grabbed his hand in hers. She hated dealing with emotions, they were pointless, and they helped in no way, but as she stood there she saw that look in Clint's eyes that was so familiar that it almost made even her shed a tear. "You lost a wife." she didn't want to say this, hell she'd do anything in this moment to not have to say it, but he needed to hear it. She could see the moment her words hit him and when they did he dropped his head at the statement. "And you lost a child." his grip on her hand tightened, but she didn't let go. "And you can't run away from that?"

"Then what do I do Nat?" he asked his eyes lifting back to hers. In that moment she saw his eyes glistening with unshed tears. "What do I do?" A beat of silence passed between them as that question sat in the air and Natasha thought of how to answer it.

"Feel it." she said suddenly giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "Don't run from it, don't try to hide from it, but feel it. Every last bit of pain, and sadness and anger. There is no next step until you do that." Clint thought on her words before giving her nod. "Do you want me to stay?" he shook his head wordlessly and she nodded before pulling her hands free. "I'm going to be out here ok, when ever you're ready for the next step, I'll be here." he once again nodded before she turned and left the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Clint stood there with his eyes closed assaulted with memory after memory of every kiss, every soft touch, every smile, every petty fight, the sound of her laughter. It was enough to knock his feet from under him. That's how Clint found himself sitting on the floor, silent tears falling from his eyes.

When Fandral left, the others followed after Thor whose hammer seemed to be guiding him. It was a new ability that even he didn't know the Mjionir had, but at the moment chose to accept his blessings.

They'd been walking for what felt like hours, when Sif heard what sounded like footsteps behind them. she turned looking through the darkened trees. She could see no one, but she knew something was out there.

"Thor—"

"I know, I hear them too." he spoke, his eyes only on his hammer. "I think we're close."

"Well I hope we're close enough, because if not we're dead." Sif said already unsheathing her sword. Volstagg and Hogun did the same as they looked out beyond the trees for their enemy. There was more rapid movement from somewhere behind the trees. "Thor, there's a lot of them!" she looked over to her prince who seemed to be walking, his eyes still down to his hammer. "We must leave now!"

"Just wait, I think we're almost—" an idea struck Thor in that moment. One he felt stupid he didn't think of before once he realized the hammers ability. He held out the hammer in front of him. "Find the spring." he ordered and suddenly the hammer shot from his hand. "Quickly, we must follow." and with that he ran after the hammer. His comrades shared a look before turning back to the darkness. Sif glanced up to the sky.

"Heimdall, be on the ready for our return." Sif ordered before her and the others turned to follow Thor. They nearly ran straight into his back when he stopped suddenly. "What is—" it was when Sif stepped around the others did she see why they were stopped. In this cold and dark place, a bright beautiful spring streamed. The water was crystal clear, and even sparkled a bit making the thought that it held some sort of magical abilities that much believable. Noises from behind them snapped them from the entrancing state the water had put them in. "We must hurry." Sif along with Volstag and Hugun turned, their weapons on the ready as Thor bent down and siphoned some of the water into a vial his father had given him. Once it was full he stood to his feet and turned just as the beasts stepped from the darkness making their presence known.

"Heimdall!" Thor's voice bellowed loudly. "Now!" and without much warning they were being pulled from that land and brought back to their own. They all stood still for a moment as they let the buzz of an impending battle pass off of them. "We must hurry."Thor said moving past them. The others shared a look before turning and following after him.

Fandral walked into the castle and headed straight for the healing room. He had hope that the Allfather could reassure him of this fight. When he walked up, he immediately noticed the healers congregated outside of the healing room.

"What's going on?" he asked and they all turned to him. One of the women stepped forward to address him. "Why aren't you in with Katherine?"

"The Allfather ordered our dismisal the moment you all and the prince were gone." she said with a slight look of confusion. "He is in with her now." Fandral nodded before moving past her to go into the room. "He ordered not to be disturbed." Fandral stopped and looked back to her to see her confused look as well. Fandral simply nodded before turning to the guards that stood outside the door.

"Inform the Allfather that I wish to speak with him. Tell him it concerns his son." The guard stood there for a moment before nodding and turning to enter the room. He waited for a moment, before the door swung open and instead of the guard, it was Odin, who looked slightly odd. "Allfather, I—" before Fandral could get the sentence out Odin was walking from the him, down the hall. Fandral quickly ran to follow.

"You said you had news of my son, has he found the spring?" Odin asked.

"Not yet, but they have defeated the dark giants and are now in search of the spring." Fandral replied, glancing back to the healing room. "Has there been any change in Lady Katherine since we've left?"

"No, she's still being frozen under the barrier." They entered the throne room, where Odin took his place at the throne and Fandral stood looking up to him. "Was that all you came to inform?" his tone had the slight hint of annoyance that went right over Fandral's head.

"Well yes, but I also seek your council." Fandral replied. "I'm finding it difficult to give this fight—this search for a way to bring back this woman who I'm not even sure is worthy of such a gift. We've had comrades die on the field in battle before, I just—" he shook his head as even in this moment he tried to understand. "I can't see why she is different. Why we're doing something we didn't even do for—" he stopped his words as he looked up to Odin. "What we didn't do for our fallen Queen." Odin’s eyes turned away slightly, and Fandral saw the smallest hint of sadness cross over his features, but only for a moment. After that moment, he turned back to the soldier with his usual hardened face.

"If I thought the spring would have brought back my Frigga, then doubt me not, I would've searched for it myself, but her death—" he once again turned away. "Her death by Malkeith's sword sealed her fate. There was no bringing her back." he turned back to Fandral who seemed to be still watching him closely. "So you've come here because you're not sure it's all worth it—that she's worth it."

"Please don't misunderstand, I'm not questioning your orders or the orders of your son. I'm just want to understand why her death must be reversed."

"I too did not understand it, but I saw that determined look in my son's eyes and knew that it didn't matter what I told him, he would find a way to save her." Odin let out a sigh. "And then I realized why. She—"

"Your highness!" one of the guards ran in completely out of breath. "Please forgive my intrusion, but they have returned. Thor and the warriors have returned." both Odin and Fandral look to the guard, both in shock and in one of their cases, nervousness.

"I should prepare for their arrival." Odin said standing from his throne. "Tell them to wait outside the healing room until I'm ready for them." Fandral simply nodded in response before watching Odin quickly leave. He shook his head once again at the strange behavior before turning to meet his friends. He didn't have to go far before meeting them in a nearby hall.

"Do you have it?" Fandral asked and Thor nodded with a wide smile as he held up the vial.

"Yes, we have it. We can bring her back" Thor announced not bothering to stop. He had one destination and he wasn't stopping until he reached it. Once he arrived at the healing room, his expression mirrored Fandral's earlier at the sight of all the healers standing outside of the healing room.

"The Allfather ordered their dismissal." Fandral answered the unasked question that was written over the prince's face. "He said for you to wait until he summons you."

"Wait?" Thor asked turning to his friend. He had the key to saving his friend in his hand and now he was told to wait.

Loki stood above Katie's body his hand hovering above her as he tried relentlessly to revive her before it was too later.

"You must awaken now, mad woman." he muttered under his breath before placing his hand to the side of her cheek. As expected an unnatural heat touched his skin, forcing him to pull back. "Damnit! Find what you need to find and return!"

The collector was playing coy and it was irritating Katie to no end. He knew something, she knew he knew something, but for some reason he wasn't spilling the beans.

"Look, I don't have time to play these games. I need to get home, and I don't think I can do that until I figure out how I got here." he stopped walking and turned to her. She had to take a step back, the man in front of her still unknown.

"When will you realize that how you're here isn't important." he said stepping toward her. With every step forward he took, she took one back, until her back was pressed against wall. "It's why you're here you should asking."

"Master!" Carina announced and they both turned where she stood. Katie's eyes widened at the familiar faces standing behind her who Carina turned to. "I present to you, Taneleer Tivan, the Collector."

"What are you doing here?" Peter asked meeting Katie's eyes with a shared look of confusion. He glanced over to the collector and his close proximity to Katie and couldn't help the questions that began swirling in his head. "Do you know him?"

"No." Katie said turning back to the collector who looked down to her with a smile. "But I'm getting the feeling he knows me." He finally turned away from her and moved to the others.

"Gamora, it's good to finally see you in the flesh." the collector said, but it was obvious from Gamora's annoyed expression that she didn't share his enthusiasm. Katie stood off to the side, watching the exchange between them still trying to answer the question of why she was here. Her attention was torn from her thoughts when Peter held up a small orb from his bag. She took a couple of steps forward as she watched him clumsily drop it and then lift it back up and hand it to the collector.

"Oh, my new friends. Before creation itself, there were six singularities." The Collector say as he places the orb on some sort of device that begins to open it. Orbs of lights and images appeared above them and Katie couldn't bear to turn her eyes away. "Then the universe exploded into existence, and the remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated ingots. Infinity Stones. These stones, it seems, can only be brandished by beings of extraordinary strength. Observe." he lifts his hand to an image that shows them the giant beings that use the Infinity Stones as weapons. “These carriers can use the stone to mow down entire civilizations like wheat in a field.”

"There's a little pee coming out of me right now." Peter said as he too found the story and images too difficult to even believe.

"Once, for a moment, a group was able to share the energy amongst themselves, but even they were quickly destroyed by it." suddenly the orb finally opens revealing the infinity stone. "Beautiful. Beyond compare."

"You're joking." Katie spoke and eyes went to her. Her eyes tore away from the stone to the collector. "Seriously, another stone?" he smirked and she narrowed her eyes to him before looking back down to the small pink gem like stone.

"You've seen them before?" Gamora asks looking to Katie with a wary eye. It was this moment did they all realize that there was more to the pregnant stranger that appeared on their ship.

"Just two others." Katie said with a slight shake of her head. She looked up to see the images of the stones and pointed to the Aether and then to the Tesseract. "I've seen both of those, up close and in person and now—" she looks back down to the pink orb. "And now I can add a third to the list."

"Is that normal?" Peter asked and Katie lifted her eyes to him. "Just seem like these things are kind of rare and you've seen three of them." Katie furrowed her brow at the statement as she began to mull it over.

"Yeah, blah, blah, blah." Rocket interrupted turning his attention to the Collector. "We're all fascinated by the vast amounts of coincidence that surround our pregnant broad, but we'd like to get paid."

"Hey Rocket, you know what road kill is?" Katie asked and the animal looked over to her. "Call me a broad just one more time." That causes him to smirk for some reason, but he quickly hardened his face and refused to believe that he was actually starting to like the broad. Katie's eyes went back to the stone, and she couldn't explain the sudden entrancing allure it seemed to have over her. The others had drifted away to further discuss payment and it was as if her feet weren't able to move. Her eyes glanced up to see Groot standing there with a smile before lifting his hand and waving to her. She was about to question him when she caught a slight movement from the corner of her eye. It was when she turn did she see the Collector's assistant, Carina, subtly moving toward the orb.

"Carina," The Collector says noticing the woman as well. All eyes turn to her as they watch her closely. "Stand back."

"I will no longer be your slave!" she yells angrily before lifting her hand.

"No!" the Collector yells, but it's no use and the moment the woman's hand wraps around the stone, the room explodes sending everyone flying and running. Katie lands on her back, her hands wrapping tightly around her belly as she looks up to the pink light that seems to surround everything. For some reason she doesn't think she should be able to see this. She shouldn't be able to be in the middle of this explosion and stare in bewilderment at the light that's engulfing her while everything else disintegrates around her. She turns her head slightly to see Gamora staring at her through the pink energy that's escaped the orb.

"Keep it safe." Katie says her voice barely a whisper, but she hopes it some how makes it to the woman's ears. Her body suddenly feels cold and she wonders if the explosion is finally effecting her. She closes her eyes tight as she awaits for her demise.

Loki doesn't know why, or how, but there seems to be a subtle shift in the air. He lifts his eyes slightly and turns his head to look out the window as the sunlight cracks through the clouds. He turns back to Katie, with a furrowed brow as he slowly lifts his hand to her cheek. This time he can feel it, he can see the blue tint change on his fingers as it moves to her skin. A smile creeps on his lips. After a moment he finally stands to his feet before shifting back into the Allfather. With a proud smile he turns on his heel and heads to the door, pulling it open. Thor is standing right there, the impatience is written all over his face.

"Father, what—"

"Quickly, there is no time to waste," the Allfather orders. "You must give her the water." Thor nods quickly before moving over to Katie. He scoops her head under his arm and lifts her slightly before bringing the vial to her lips and pouring the contents into her mouth.

For some reason he expected some instant resurrection, but instead the moment the liquid disappeared into her mouth, nothing happened. Thor frowned as he looked down to her motionless body in his arms. He began to doubt everything, every beam in his body had told him. "Father, it's not—"

"You must give it time son." The Allfather replied watching the woman closely. He watched as the last hint of blue disappeared right behind her left ear, and the moment it was gone, her eyes snapped open and she released a loud gasp of air.

They didn't pester her, or ask too many questions. Actually they gave her space to allow her to process everything that had happened, which at the moment was proving quite difficult. Katie stood in one of the many grand rooms of the castle, alone, staring out the window at the beautiful scenery of the land. Her eyes lifted to the sky which she heard was quite different while she was...it was still hard to say. It was hard to admit that she was dead and now she's not. Most people pray for chances like that and now she's had two and for the life of her she doesn't understand why. There was a knock outside her door, and she turned as it pushed open and in walked Thor.

"I wanted to make sure you were alright." he said and Katie nodded as she turned back to the window. They stood in silence before Thor tried his hand in conversation once again. "What do you remember?"

"I was in the car with Sarkissian and then for some reason it stopped and then there—" she closed her eyes as she remembered the truck. "There was this semi heading straight for us at full speed and then I felt—" she glanced down to her belly as she let her finger slide across. "The baby moved." she looked over to Thor. "I took it as a sign to get the hell out of there."

"And then?"

"Then I climbed over the seat and tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge." she said the anxiety from the situation creeping up her spine. "I thought I was a goner for sure and then—" she looked over to Thor. "It was open. The door somehow open and since I couldn't just sit there and question it, I got out and ran." he stared at her waiting for more. "And then nothing. I don't know how I was found lifeless on the side of the road. I—" she shook her head as she turned back to look out the window. "I've been gone for nearly a week and it feels like only couple of minutes to me. I don't understand."

"What?"

"Any of it. How I died and why I'm back." she turned back to Thor. "Why you risked your life to bring me back? I mean Thor, c'mon, I'm not worth that—"

"You underestimate your presence lady Katherine." Thor replied stepping closer to her. "Me, along with countless others weren't ready to live in a world without you in it."

"One day you will, one day you will have to."

"Yes, but that day isn't today. Your death was not natural, and because of that there was a chance to reverse what was done." Katie stared at him in confusion. "I can't explain it fully, but I knew I couldn't just let you end there. Not like that. You're still needed."

"I wish I could see what you saw. What you all see when you look at me, but I can't." she walked over to him and stood staring him right in the eyes. "If it happens again, let me go." he stared down to her and smiled.

"Only if you promise to do the same." he replied and she narrowed her eyes before turning away. "You can't, can you?" she shook her head wordlessly before turning and going back over to the window. "You risked your life in defense of me once, and you helped save the woman I love. Whether you believe it or not, I owe you a great deal. I will forever be in your debt and if it is in my ability I will always be there to bring you back just as I am sure you will do the same." he walked up beside her and stared out the window. "We are the Avengers, are we not? The realms still need us around." she glanced up to him with a smile she couldn't help. "We will beat any enemy that comes our way."

"Including death apparently." Katie muttered as she looked up to the sky. She was standing in a castle above the stars, but as she looked up to sky she couldn't help but feel that there was more out there.

"We should prepare to return you to Midgard. I know our comrades will be glad to know of your recovery." Thor said with a wide smile. "Everything can be as it was." It was that moment that Katie felt a slight thump under her fingers and her eyes went to her belly.

"Not everything." she muttered.

Somewhere in the castle away from prying eyes, Loki stood in his chambers his eyes on his mirror as the memories he'd stolen from Katie played in front of him.

" _Is that normal?" the man asked and Katie lifted her eyes to him. "Just seem like these things are kind of rare and you've seen three of them."_

Loki turned away in thought as even he tried to find a suitable answer to the question. He turned back to the screen as the sight of the stone appeared.

"She is only a midgardian." he muttered as he watched the way her eyes seemed drawn to the stone. "A mad woman." But there was more to her than that...he just knew it.

_**Somewhere far away hidden beyond the realms...** _

A nervous centaurian approaches the throne of his master. He knows bad news at this point is not even possible. Especially since things weren't going his master's way.

"Tell me something good." the deep gravely voice spoke.

"Ronan has been defeated." the centaurian replied. "Destroyed by the stone."

"Where is the stone now?"

The words couldn't pass through his lips and in the end they didn't have to. His master knew the fate of the stone, knew his daughter was smart. Too smart for her own good.

"That's not what I wanted." his master stood raising his hand to rid himself of yet another of his annoyances.

"Lord Thanos, there is more!" the centaurian cried hoping his pleas weren't falling on deaf ears. Thanos dropped his hand back down and waited. "There was an atmospheric anomaly reported in all the realms. They all were inflicted with the Clouds of Chaos. Only the premature stages, no harm inflicted, but they all reported the same thing. My lord, I believe it may have been a sign of the seventh stone."

A smile crept on the lips of Thanos at the words.


	37. Chapter 37

It's funny the moment you realize that all of your preconceived notions about life are totally and completely screwed. Five years ago there weren't secret organizations like SHIELD or HYDRA, there weren't aliens who called themselves gods, and it definitely wasn't possible for her to die and to come back to life. Five years ago Katie was just a woman really good with computers. Now she was someone else. Now she didn't know what or who to believe.

That was the reason she asked Thor if she could have one day before returning home. He didn't quite seem to understand her reluctance. He actually expected her to want nothing more than to return to her family as soon as possible, but he didn't push. She didn't expect that day to move as quickly as it did and soon Katie found herself only mere moments away from doing the one thing she wasn't completely sure she was ready for.

She spent her last remaining moments in one of the castle's beautiful gardens trying to think of how this will all play out. She is aware that they were all sad because of her death, and she knows that she should be sympathetic to that fact, but she can't forget the lies and the secrets and the betrayal from the people she calls family.

"We should've known you'd find your way down here at some point." A voice spoke suddenly, startling her. She turned to see the smiling face of Fandral. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"It's fine, I'm the one burying herself in her thoughts." Katie replied turning to a particularly beautiful pink flower.

"That is the Giraluna." Fandral said as he watched the woman marveling at the flower. "It is very special flower, carrying healing abilities in it's pedals." he moved to stand beside her and quickly grabbed her hand as she reached to touch it. "And a deadly poison in it's thorns."

She turned to him with wide eyes. "A flower that has both the power to help and to hurt." he simply nodded as he released her hand. "Sounds familiar." she turned back to the flower, and Fandral watched her closely, still trying to figure out why the woman in front of him was so important.

"Lady Katherine—"

"You left." Katie interrupted turning back to the man. "When Thor went in search of this spring, you helped them fight, but then you left." Fandral dropped his head in shame before shaking his head sputtering apologies.

"Please forgive me, I—"

"Stop," Katie said grabbing his hand with a smile. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset about it, hell I completely understand why you did it. It's Thor and the others who confuse me." she shook her head. "I was dead because sometimes people die. Second chances should be granted to those who deserve them."

"Do you not think you deserved the second chance you received?"

"Do you?" she asked. "Isn't that why you left?"

"Yes," he replied turning from her. His eyes were drawn to the bright clouds that hung above them. "But just because I didn't know if you deserved the second chance you received, doesn't mean you didn't deserve it." he smiled as a flock of birds flew by and Katie followed her gaze. "Though my opinion on the matter has changed greatly."

"I'm not sure mine has." Katie muttered when she spotted Thor walking toward them. He was smiling widely and she knew what was coming."I guess you're finally kicking me out." Thor frowned at her choice of words.

"Do not misunderstand, you're welcome here for as long as you would like, I just thought you'd be in a hurry to return to your home." Thor said and Katie simply nodded. He was right. She should be chomping at the bits to get home, but for the life of her she just wasn't ready. Not yet.

"I am, I just—" she looked around the garden smiling at some sort of beautiful flying insect around a few of the flowers. "I like the simplicity of this place. I like that no one here is trying to trap me in a box. No one here is keeping secrets or trying to hurt me." she turned back to Thor who placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You have a fierce heart lady Katherine, and I've witnessed you defy unbeatable odds. This shall not be any different." he said pulling her into a hug that even Katie wasn't aware she needed until that very moment.

"Like a band aid, right?" Katie said as she pulled from the hug. She looked over to Fandral with a smile before turning back to Thor. "I guess we should go." They all began walking back toward the castle, Katie in front as Thor and Fandral followed.

"What's a band aid?" Fandral whispered over to Thor.

"It's a sticky paper Midgardians use to heal wounds." Thor replied and Fandral's eyes widened.

"Paper?" he asked and Thor simply nodded.

After that the preparations for her departure were on there way. Katie stood beside Thor at the entrance of the castle as she said her goodbye to her Asgardian friends. Volstagg and Hogun were just walking off in search of food, before Katie turned to Thor.

"You know I kind of expected to see your father before I left." she said and he turned away an expression she didn't recognize crossing his face. "Is everything alright?"

"My father is not a proud man. He knows your gratitude." He looked like there was something more on his mind, but Katie didn't want to push him. She knows since the Queen's death, Odin has probably become someone different.

"Well at least I am here to bid you farewell." Sif said and Katie turned to her with a smile. "I wish you well Lady Katherine."

"And I you." Katie replied with a smile and a nod before turning to Fandral who simply nodded his head to her. "Fandral."

"Lady Katherine,"

After their farewells, Katie followed along side Thor down the rainbow bridge.

"Just so you are aware, Heimdall's eyes shall still be on you." Thor said and Katie nodded. "I wish I was able to stop what happened, but even he can't explain the turn of events that lead to your death."

"Well hopefully we'll find out at some point." Katie replied before her eyes looked back down to the bridge as they walked. When they finally reached Heimdal, he stood at his place, sword in hand with a look Katie could only describe as unbeatable strength.

"It is pleasure to have you back with us Lady Katherine." Heimdal said, his eyes fixed on the worlds beneath him.

"And a pleasure to be back." Katie said as Thor help her up the steps of the wheelhouse. "So you're going to send me back home."

"Are you ready for such a journey?" he asked turning to her fully. Katie turned away in thought before turning back to him.

"I don't think it matters if I am or not, it's a journey I'm going to have to take." Katie replied and the guard merely nodded.

"Then let us waste no more time." Heimdall replied before he drove his sword into the middle of platform, and a beam of light shot out surrounding them.

Katie kept her eyes closed for most of the short trip, only daring to open them when she felt the ground beneath her. She was once again surrounded by flowers, but these were familiar. These were the flowers she helped pick out for the tower's roof top garden. The lights above the flowers made the beautiful scene as beautiful at night as it was in the daylight. She was home.

"Shall we venture inside?" Thor asked looking down to Katie who hadn't moved from her spot beside him.

"Yeah, might as well." Katie said finally scrounging up the courage to move her feet. They moved toward the elevator and awaited it's doors to open. Thor glanced over to Katie, whose hands were wrapped protectively around her belly.

"I'm sure your Hawk will be happy of the your return." Thor said and Katie tensed slightly at the thought of the impending reunion with her husband. Her mind traveled to the last time they were even in the same room and she had to take a deep breath just calm herself. The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open and Katie silently stepped inside, Thor staying at her side. "Lady Katherine, are you sure you're alright with this?" he couldn't miss the uncertainty in her eyes. She bit her bottom lip as she stared at the doors in front of her refusing to meet his questioning gaze. "Katie?" it was rare that Thor fell upon such informalities, but he knew there was something Katie wasn't saying and he was slightly worried.

She met his eyes for a moment before reaching up and pressing one of the buttons inside the elevator. "I'm fine Thor." she replied after a few beats of silence. "I have to be." when the elevator finally stopped, the doors opened to a floor the Thor recognized instantly. He looked over to Katie with a furrowed brow.

"As much as I would love for you to hold my hand through this, I just can't." she turned to him with a smile. "You've done so much for me already and I just can't take anything else from you. I'm sure Jane is waiting for you and you should go to her now." Thor stood there for a moment, searching her eyes for any indication of distress that he could fix, but he knew there wasn't anything more he could do for her. He gave her a smile before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Everything will be fine Lady Katherine." Thor says softly. "I'm sure of it." Katie gives him a reassuring smile before he turns and steps off the elevator in search of his Lady Jane. Once the elevators close, Katie finds herself alone and it happens. Everything that has happened, every detail replays in her head causing her to stumble back, her back falling against the wall.

"Katie, are you alright?" a familiar voice asks and it's a voice that seems to break through the craziness in her head. She smiles and lifts her head.

"Yes JARVIS, I'm fine. Thanks for asking. How have you been?" she can't help but ask more interested in how her old friend will answer rather than the actual answer.

"I am not sure of how to vocalize my state of being since your last visit." JARVIS responded and Katie can't help but smile at such an honest answer. "Though I must say I believe your presence will be much welcomed."

"Yeah." Katie sighed looking over to the buttons that lined the wall, and for the life of her she couldn't reach up and press one of them. "I can't do this." the words were a whisper of the honest to God truth. She knew if she went to her apartment, if she saw him, then only one thing would happen. The moment where she would have to reassure everyone that everything was ok, when in her heart it wasn't. She was angry and she wanted to hash everything out, but only a heartless person would do such a thing.

"Katie, where would you like to go?" JARVIS asked and Katie couldn't help but feel that was the million dollar question. The apartment was out of the question. She wasn't ready for that scene to play out yet and so there was only one other place she felt she could go.

"The lab JARVIS. Take me to the lab." soon the elevator was moving and Katie felt like she could breathe again. When the doors slid open, Katie was met with the familiar sight of the place that always made sense to her. She walked into the lab, looking up to the monitors her eyes drawn to the moving images. It wasn't until she was closer did she recognize what they were showing. "They're looking for the Rosen Bridge." she mutters before stepping forward and typing a few keys ending the search. She let her eyes scan over the place to see it was less tidy then she remembered. There was a stapler on the floor, so she walked over bent down to pick it up. The moment she did, the sound of the elevator opening stopped her dead in her tracks. Heavy footsteps walked in and then stopped.

"JARVIS, what's going on, why has the search stopped?" a familiar voice spoke and Katie didn't move. "Have you—" there were a few more steps. "Did you find her?"

"My search was unsuccessful sir, but—"

"Then why has the damn search ended!" Tony snapped angrily. "It doesn't stop until she's found."

"Well it's a good thing I'm here, huh?" she finally spoke standing up straight to meet the man's eyes. The whole room stopped in that moment and Katie felt the nervousness twitch in her belly. "Hey Tony." he didn't say anything which is strange for a man who usually has a response to everything. Katie didn't move from her spot, afraid of the moment of her stepping forward only for him to step away. "Guess who's not dead?" she watched as he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before releasing a heavy breath. They'd been here before, this moment where she just appears after he believed she was dead. "I'm really here." she spoke knowing that probably was the only thing he needed to know right now. Still nothing and Katie was really starting to believe that this was all a big mistake. "I'm sorry." he lifted his head at her words as she shook her head. "I didn't—I wouldn't have done this if—" she met his eyes once again and in a heartbeat, Tony had moved to her and brought his arms around her in a tight hug.

"How is this possible?" Tony finally asked and Katie smiled as she brought her arms around him hugging back.

"Thor keeps his word." Katie replied finding an awful lot of comfort in the arms of her friend. "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing, this isn't your fault. Shit just happened." he pulled from the hug, but not to far. He pull back just enough to look at her face and really grasp that she was really here. "I thought I lost you again and that is not a good feeling. What happened?"

"I'm still not sure. I was at the agency and then Sarkissan came and we were driving until we stopped and then there was this truck coming at us." Katie sighed, the memory hitting her. "And then I felt—" she placed a hand on her belly. " The baby started kicking and I knew I couldn't just sit there and die." she met his eyes with a shake of her head. "And then nothing. Then I'm waking up in Asgard with absolutely no idea how I got there, and Thor telling me that the world thinks I'm dead."

"Well yeah, the world thinks you're dead, but I didn't. I knew that it couldn't end like that." he placed a kiss on her forehead. "You know I doubt that big bird would let you out of his sight the moment he laid eyes on you." Katie sighed turning her back to him. "He doesn't know you're back, does he?"

"No one other than you and Thor, and well JARVIS know I'm here." Katie replied as she looked over one of Tony suits that he seemed to be in the middle of building. "I couldn't face him yet. Not when I'm positive that I would hit him if I did."

"What did he do this time?" Tony asked and Katie turned to him with a furrowed brow. "What?"

"You don't know?" she asked and Tony narrowed his eyes and simply shook his head. Katie was sure that at this point that the whole tower would know, but she should've known they wouldn't. Coulson probably made sure everything stayed under wraps. Katie turned to face him, folding her arms over her chest. "My parents are alive." Tony's eyes widened at the news.

"How is that...are you sure?"

"Pretty sure seeing as they kidnapped me, took me to some cabin in the woods and then tried to justify faking their deaths." It was still too bizarre to even believe. She was there and it was hard for her to even believe.

"But your dad, I thought you—"

"I did, but apparently there are those who can make people see the things they want them to see."

"SHIELD is behind this?" Tony asked and Katie nodded. "Of course they are. What are they not behind these days?" Katie chuckled slightly turning away from him. She didn't want him to see something and so he decided to see what it was. He walked over to her, placing himself in front of her making her look up to him."What did he do?"

"He knew. He knew and he didn't tell me. Hell he didn't even plan on telling me. You know I knew—" she shook her head and walked away from him. "I knew once we came back and we let it all back in, New York, Avengers, SHIELD, it was going to ruin it." she was now pacing and Tony chose to just stand there and let her vent for a while. "We were happy, we were-" she stopped and looked over to him. "He let them ruin us."

"Maybe—" Tony started unsure if he should finish "Maybe he was trying to protect you." Katie stared at Tony for a moment trying to see if he were serious, or if this was some sort of joke.

"You're defending him?"

"No, I just get why he might keep something like that from you."

"You're joking, why would you—" it seemed to hit her in that moment. The only reason Tony Stark would defend Clint Barton was if he done the same thing. "Are you keeping something from me?"

"I didn't say that, I just—"

"Tony, what is it?"

"Fine, when you got that call from the woman claiming to be your mother and I went to check it out—"

"You found nothing but an empty house." Tony ran his hand through his hair with a sigh and Katie took a step forward. "Right?"

"Well not nothing." Tony said walking over to her, but she took a step back. "There was a chest and it was filled with pictures."

"Of what?"

"You, when you were younger, your parents." he waved for her to follow him. "They're here, just—" he turned and began heading to his office, but stopped when he turned to see her still standing there. "I'm sorry." Katie dropped her eyes from his for a moment before bringing her eyes back to his.

"It's fine." she said with a smile he knew wasn't genuine. "I mean I'm sure you had your reasons and—"

"No, that's not how we work." Tony said walking over to her and placing himself right in front of her. "Sure, what I did, I thought I was protecting you. You'd just had some panic attack that scared the shit out of me and I had nothing but a chest full of pictures. There were a million and one reasons why it was there, so I thought I would wait until I had some more. Was it right, probably not, but I thought I was saving you from a crap load of bullshit that you didn't need to deal with. Hey—" he placed a hand on her shoulder. "You should be angry at Barton, at me at everyone who decided they knew what was best for you. You shouldn't put everyone else's feelings before yours." Katie simply nodded before turning and heading for the elevator. She only stopped after she pressed the button. The doors slid open instantly and before she stepped on, she turned to Tony.

"I can handle a lot more then you think, so next time give me the chance to prove it to you."

"I'm sorry, I thought—" Katie held up a hand to stop him and decided to just comply.

"Out of everyone in the world Tony Stark is supposed to be honest with me. I should trust him if I can't trust anyone else. He's my best friend." she shook her head and just took a step back onto the elevator. "Things I thought were true, but I'm being proven wrong about a lot of things lately." and with those words the elevator doors closed and just like that she had one big reunion down and another to go.

It was still too soon to face Clint. She still needed time to actually form thoughts, and words, because at the moment all she had for him were a bunch of expletives paired with some physical violence. Katie stood on the elevator unsure where to go now. Once upon a time this Tower felt like home. It was more of a home than any other place she'd been and now...now she really wanted to leave. That thought kept floating to the back of her head, telling her that it would all be so easy and so simple if she just ran. Running was her go to move, but she had more things to take into consideration. Her hand rubbed mindlessly across her belly, just awaiting those next couple of thumps underneath her finger tips. She figured the baby must be sleeping. She should be sleeping, but she just couldn't.

"Where shall you like to go Katie?" JARVIS asked and Katie lifted her head slightly as she thought over the question.

"I think—" there was someone she figured she should probably see. "Yeah, I should probably go talk to Mattie." When the doors opened, Katie stalked off down the dim lit hallway and headed down the familiar path toward Matthew's door. When she rose her hand to knock, the hesitation suddenly hit her. Their last conversation definitely wasn't one of their best moments, and she wasn't sure how this next conversation would go.

"Would you like me to inform Mr. Banks that you're outside his door?" JARVIS asked and Katie smiled slightly as she lifted her head. She was starting to realize this AI was probably her best friend at the moment.

"No, I can do this." Katie sighed before finally knocking a couple of times on the door. She stood there, waiting nervously, partially hoping he didn't answer the door. That hope was crushed the moment that door swung open, and a the familiar face of her brother appeared. His eyes were wide with shock as he simply stood there and just stared at her. It was the expected reaction, which she had to counteract with the unexpected reaction. Katie took a step forward, grabbed his shoulder with one hand before tossing a fist right in his gut with the other causing him to double over instantly. "Hey Mattie." she greeted before moving around him into his apartment.

Matthew stood there for a couple of moments unsure if he was dreaming or if that just happened. He suddenly turned to see her sitting on his couch with her hand covering her eyes.

"You're...you're not dead." Matthew said from his spot by the door. He was still finding it hard to even consider this moment was real and he just didn't know how to deal with this.

"No, Agent Black I am not." Katie replied lifting her feet to his coffee table. "I am alive, and very tired, so please just stop talking for a second." Matthew walked over and took a seat on the recliner across from her, and just silently looked at her still wondering if this was real.

"I would've told you—"

"Oh no you wouldn't!" Katie snapped angrily opening her eyes and glaring over to him. "You would've taken it to your grave Agent Black. Top CIA agent, excelled in counter-terrorism, espionage. You were, I'm sorry you are the poster boy CIA agent and for some reason you thought I should be the one you hide it from."

"You think I didn't want to tell you?! You think it wasn't eating me up inside that I had to hide something so big from the one person in this world I even give a damn about?!" Matthew slid forward on his seat, trying to bring himself closer to her, but she slid further away. "My sister worked for a very dangerous government agency. She's been through the ringer and when she looked at me she smiled because she thought I was her saving grace. She would smile because she believed her little brother was just this normal screw up. I kept this from you because you needed me to just be your normal little brother. You needed something normal in your life and I wouldn't take that from you." Katie didn't say anything to that, because he was partially right. If she were totally and completely honest with herself she would say that he was more than partially right. "How did you even find out?"

"You're my little brother, of course I checked in on you. Of course I saw how you were doing in college, of course I made sure when you were arrested for disorderly conduct, a mysterious order popped up to have you released." she dropped her feet back to the floor and leaned in closer to him as well. "Of course I was aware that a recruiter from the CIA stopped by on your graduation day with a business card and a promise that you could help change the world. I never left you, you dill hole." she shook her head as she sat back against the couch. "I thought you were out after Operation Black Bird, but I guess I was wrong." she turned away from him and once again closed her eyes. "I've spent my whole life being lied to. I didn't need you to pretend to be normal, I just needed you to be honest with me."

"I'm sorry," Matthew whispered, but Katie didn't say anything. "I'm glad you're not dead." Katie looked over to him. "You're kind of a big part of me Rinny and if you're gone then I'm a very empty individual. So I know you're still upset and I know this is probably the last thing you want to do right now, but I don't care. I'm your brother and you're my sister and for the past couple of days I was made to believe you were dead and I think I at least deserve a hug." Katie sat there for a moment, and Matthew thought for sure that she would keep pushing him away, but then she stood to her feet and walked over to him. He stood as well in front of her.

"Well—" she said opening her arms slightly and without hesitation, the young man pulled his sister into a tight hug. After a few moments, he felt her arms wrap around him as well.

"Don't die again." he muttered against her ear. "Like ever. Like live forever, ok?"

"Ok." Katie replied before pressing a kiss to his cheek. When Matthew pulled back, he looked down to her stomach before placing a hand over her rounded belly.

"And keep my little niece or nephew here too." he looked up to his eyes. "Despite what I might say sometimes, I definitely need you around."

"I'm not going anywhere." Katie said turning and walking over to sit on the couch. "Not when the crazy has just gotten started." she let out a yawn and Matthew's couldn't help but ask an obvious question.

"Where's agent Dick?" he asked looked back to the door. "I thought he'd be the first person on your guess who's still kicking tour?"

"That's a long story." Katie sighed closing her eyes. "And at the moment, I think I would just like to sleep." she spun around so she was now completely lying on the couch.

"You can have the bed—"

"I'm not taking your bed."

"And I'm not letting my pregnant sister sleep on my couch." Matthew replied and Katie let out an annoyed moan before standing to her feet and shuffling toward the bedroom, letting the door slam behind her.

Matthew smiled. For the first time in a long time he smiled. Sure she was angry, but she would get over it at some point. She was back and that's what really mattered.

The next morning Matthew's eyes snapped open quickly and he jumped to his feet and headed for the bedroom. He cursed as he glanced out the window to see the sunlight. He told himself that he wouldn't go to sleep. Despite what happened the night before, a part of him was still afraid that it was all some dream or hallucination. He pushed open the door and saw her lying there, her back to him and for a moment he just stood there and watched her.

"Mr. Banks." JARVIS spoke and Matthew could've sworn the AI was whispering. Matthew closed the door so he wouldn't wake his sister.

"What's up JAR?" Matthew asked.

"You have visitors." Matthew looked at his clock with a furrowed brow. It was six o clock in the morning and since no one in this tower had a real job, no one was really up this early except for him. He walked over to the door, and looked out the peep hole, letting out a groan as he did. Taking a deep breath and trying to mentally prepare himself, Matthew pulled open the door. "Tony, Doc, what are you doing here?" Tony simply waved him off before storming into his apartment and looking around before turning back to the man.

"Where is she?" Tony asked before spotting the closed bedroom door, and instantly walking over.

"Tony, don't! She's sleeping!" Matthew called and Tony stopped right outside the door. "So you know?"

"Yeah, I found her in the lab last night." Tony replied rubbing his hand over his eyes. It was at this point did Matthew get a good look at the man. His eyes were red with dark circles, like he didn't sleep at all last night. "I told her about the chest?"

"You did what?" Matthew asked angrily. "Could we not do a vote before you went out and threw us all under the bus."

"Matt," Bruce spoke and the young man turned to now see Bruce sitting in his recliner, with his hand covering his eyes practically still asleep. "Tony did the right thing. There was too much lying and secrets being kept in this tower."

"Yeah, I would have at least liked some input."

"Well she knew the truth and still slept here." Tony said waving a hand toward the door. "So I'm guessing she isn't too pissed at you."

"She must be really pissed at the secret agent dude because there's no way she'd choose staying here over being with him." Matthew looked between both men awaiting some answers. "What happened?"

"Katie's parents are alive." Bruce spoke lifting his head. "According to Tony, Katie met them that day in the park after she met with Barney."

"Parents? As in mom and dad?" How is that possible?"

"How is anything possible these days?" Tony asked tossing his hands up in frustration. "SHIELD. I'm really starting to believe SHIELD created more problems than it actually solved."

"Where are they now?" Matthew asked looking between the two men.

"No idea, but I know of one person who may know. The guy she's seems to be avoiding."

"That was going to be my next question." Matthew replies his eyes darkening slightly. He knew his sister and knew that if she wasn't with Clint right, then the man must have really fucked. "Let me guess, Mr. Former Agent Man, isn't as former as we thought?"

"He knew about her parents before she did." Bruce replied with a shake of his head. "Look we don't know the whole truth—"

"Oh come off it doc. He's been lying this whole time,"

"He's not the only one!" a new voice snapped and they all turned to see Katie. "Everyone in this room has thought it best to keep something from me." Katie's eyes turned to Tony. "I think it's time to assemble the team. We should talk."

When Clint's eyes opened, nothing happened. He remembers waking up, happy, ready for the day. He remembers his eyes opening and the first thing he saw was the most beautiful thing he's seen in his entire life. Now when he opened them, just nothing. He heard voices from the other room, and sat up from the bed. When he walked out into the living room, he saw Natasha and Bruce who both turned to him instantly.

"What's going on?" Clint asked seeing a look past between the two. "Nat?"

"He did it." Natasha replied and Clint stared at her in confusion. "Thor, he—" the woman seemed a bit surprised herself after just learning of the news. She met Clint's eyes and knew there was nothing else he wanted to hear, but the words he'd been dying to hear. "Katie's alive."

Clint didn't say anything after that. His eyes turned away as if he were trying to make sense of what she'd just told him.

"Hey, Clint. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true." Bruce added. "She wants to see you—" Clint turned to the man. "Well all of us. Upstairs in the conference room, right now." Clint had a location and time and that's all he needed. Without a second thought Clint turned and rushed out of the apartment in the crumpled clothing he'd worn the day before. When he stepped onto the elevator, he looked at the numbers and for some reason blanked on which floor the conference room was on.

"JARVIS—" Clint spoke and suddenly the elevator began moving. "Thank you."

"You're welcome sir."

Clint's hands twitched at his side, as he waited impatiently. This was crazy. He couldn't help but feel that this was all just a little too crazy to be reality. Was he dreaming? Hallucinating? The doors of the elevator slid open and there she was. Katie was standing in front of a large window, her arm draped lazily over her belly as she stared out to the city. In that moment, Clint was bombarded with emotions that nearly took him off his feet. He let out a deep breath as if a switch was turned on, and he could finally breathe again. Katie turned the moment she heard him, and her eyes widened for a second before her eyes glance down to her stomach.

Clint couldn't take his eyes off of her. He couldn't stop looking at her, because he didn't know if this was even happeneing. He didn't know if this was real, but right now, in this moment, he didn't care. She was right there and he wouldn't dare blink if it meant that she'd be gone. When she looked back up to him, she stood up straight with a cold look in her eyes that he'd seen before. Never aimed at him. Not until this moment. He knew what the first words out of his mouth needed to be.

"I'm sorry." Clint breathed, taking a step forward, the need to be closer to her growing with every passing second. "I shouldn't have kept something so important from you. I should've been honest, I should've—" he took another step, feeling everything he thought was gone inside of him coming back. "You're my partner. You and that—" he looked down to her swollen belly and smiled the first smile he'd been able to conjure up since she left. "You and that baby are everything to me." he met her eyes just as he stepped in front of her. He was close, but he didn't reach out to her, despite everything in his body wanting to. "Kat-"

"I'm angry with you. I want to hit you and I want to scream at you and I—" she gasped, the hand around her belly tightening slightly. Clint instinctively took a step forward, but she backed away from his touch. "I'm fine, it's just—" she let out a grunt as she turned away from him just as the elevator slid open once again and in walked the others.

"I can't believe it." Steve said walking over to Katie, his eyes going over her in disbelief. "How is this possible? The last time we saw you, you were—" he stopped, not wanting to rehash unpleasant memories.

"I'm not entirely sure. Thor and his friends found some freaky water that brought me back."

"Back from where?" Clint asked and Katie turned to him. He was still standing close, something she doesn't think will change anytime soon. "You were dead, so how are you here?"

"Since when is dead ever the end for us?" Tony spoke and they all turned to him. "I get you guys want to understand the whys and hows of all of this, but I think the most important thing right now is that she's here. She's back and not dead."

"Tony is right." Thor spoke smiling over to Katie. "Lady Katherine is here, and she is alive. I think for right now we should be grateful for that."

"So what now?" Bruce asked and they all shared a look.

"Now we're here. Now we're back and we're together and we fight the bad things that try to hurt us." Katie said taking a step forward. "We are the Avengers—" That was the first time ever that she admitted her inclusion in this group of extraordinary people. She looked at each and everyone in that room and felt like this is where she needed to be. "—and we do nothing as good as kicking ass."

Katie walked into this tower with a feeling of anger and disappointment and at the end of the day, none of it mattered. The truth was, and would remain that people were inadvertently human. They made decisions, some good, some bad. Katie stood in a room filled with people she was proud to call her family and right now she felt that's what everyone in this moment needed. They needed family and so she'd get over her shit, and move forward. As best she could anyways. After the little reunion, everyone stood around silently.

"Lets order in." Tony suggested turning to Katie. "A welcome back celebration for my kitten."

"Tony, maybe we should—" Bruce looked between Katie and Clint who looked like they still had words they needed to say. "Call it a day."

"What?" Tony glanced over to Bruce who gave him a look for him to just let it go. Tony turned back to Katie who seemed to be avoiding all looks from Clint. "Fine, but I'm still ordering a crap load of food and you're all invited." Tony walked over to Katie who seemed to stiffen slightly at his closeness. He dropped his head slightly to force her to look into his eyes. "Today is a new day. Yesterday is in the past. Everyone in this room will get a good nights sleep just because you're here." Tony pressed a kiss to Katie's cheek. "You're my kitten, now and forever." the last part was whispered just for her to hear. Katie turned her eyes to the man with a small smile before watching he and the others turn and leaving the room leaving no one but her and Clint.

"The truth," Katie said after a few moments of silence. "I think that's where we start."

"Ok."

"Did you know the entire time?"

"No, absolutely not. It was the day that you started talking to me again. That day Nat came and got me and took me to Coulson who told me that he needed my help on something. Something that concerned you and your safety and the only way he would tell is if I promised to not say a word about it. Not even to you."

"And you agreed."

"Of course I—" Clint took a step forward and Katie once again met that step with a step back that hurt like hell. "I know how it looks to you, but the truth is that I would rather you alive and pissed at me, than dead. Those were the options put in front of me. I chose the one that ends with you alive." Katie turned away from him and walked back over to the window. "Which didn't happen. So either way I still lost." Clint walked over to stand beside her, his eyes on the side of her face. It still felt unreal. Even in this moment when she was standing right there, he couldn't believe it. Just the day before he'd finally admitted to himself that this moment wasn't going to happen. And now that he was right here in it, it just didn't seem real. "You're right here, safe, alive, is the only thing I've ever wanted." Katie turned her eyes to him, and could see the seriousness, and honesty that he held behind his green eyes. "Kat I—"

"When I see you my heart just rams in my chest." Katie said suddenly, turning to him. "It has since that day I spotted you in that coffee shop. I still get butterflies in my stomach when I'm around you, and when I'm angry with you, when I'm really pissed off at you, there's always a small part of me that just wants you to kiss me and make the troubles just go away." Clint took a step toward her, but she once again backed away, this time holding her hands up to stop him. "My parents are alive." she still couldn't find a way to just let that roll off of her tongue. "Who knew first doesn't change that. It does change what I see when I look at you. You're Special Agent Clint Barton and that guy places the job above everything else."

"Kat, that's not true. I—"

"Do you remember when you wanted to leave because you were afraid of that moment when you'd have to choose between being Agent Barton again, or just being the guy who gets the girl. You wanted to leave because you thought you knew what you were going to choose, but I didn't believe it. I thought that once we got out from everyone else's thumb that we could just live. You promised me that we could have it and then you chose to be Agent Barton again—"she snapped her finger. "-just like that. And you were really good at it. It's just I think we should take some time and—" her words were cut off by Clint's lips as they crashed into hers, making the world around them dissolve. His hand slid around her back pulling her as close as possible before her arms snaked around his neck. And just like that everything else just didn't matter. In that moment Clint just wanted to kiss her forever, but apparently he needed to breathe, and so he pulled away, but barely. He kept one hand on her waist, while the other was pressed against her cheek.

"You know I lived in a world without you in it for three days and it sucked shit." Clint said, both their breaths still trying to calm. "You died and the sun didn't rise or set. The wind didn't blow and-" he let out a deep breath because he couldn't explain the happiness he was feeling as he stood there with her and a smile pulled at his lips. "You died and you took everything with you. So if I had to make a choice—" he brought both his hands to cup the side of her face. "Then there really isn't a choice. I fucked up and I'm sorry, but I promise you today and everyday after that it's you and me." For just a few moments Katie just stared up into his eyes and he knew the wheel was turning. Knew she was analyzing everything up until this moment to decide her next move.

Katie reached up and took Clint's hand before pressing it against her belly so he could feel the fluttering underneath his fingers. A gasp escaped his lips as he felt the baby kicking against his hand. "Whoever is in there goes crazy when you're around apparently." Clint met her eyes with a look she couldn't even describe, but it did make her own eyes water. "You, me and whoever is in there, alright?"

"Alright." Clint replied with a bright smile before he once again gave into the needs of his body and pressed another kiss to her lips.

"Take me home." she whispered against his lips. Clint pulled away, bringing his forehead against hers.

"Not home, not yet. But one day I'm going to take you home." Katie smiled before pressing one final kiss to his lips before he placed a hand on her back before sliding an arm underneath her legs before lifting her up into his arm causing her to laugh.

"Stark was right." Clint said as he walked them toward the elevator and Katie's eyes widened at his words. "And this is probably the one and only time those words will come out of mouth, but he was right." he turned to Katie as he stepped onto the elevator. "Today is a new day and I'm not going to waste it." Katie wrapped her arms around Clint's neck, leaning in to press a kiss to his lips that always fit so perfectly against his.

That night Katie was just too wired to sleep. Clint’s arm was wrapped lazily around her, as her head rested on his chest, his heart beat thumping under her ear. She lifted her head and slid her fingers over his lips letting her eyes just stare at him for moment. When she returned she was sure that she would just be so angry when she finally spoke with him, and yet she couldn't. She wanted to be angry with him, so badly but in the end something happened. She realized that life really is short and she was a big enough person to let go of the past to just move on and that's what she was going to do. Her parents were alive, and her husband knew and didn't tell her and that fact alone sucked ass. But Katie had to make a decision... a very tough decision. She had to choose whether she was going to hold on to the bad stuff or let it go and just be as happy as she could be with her family. When all is said and done, she knows deep down in her heart that she made the right decision.

Trying her best not to wake him, Katie slid out of bed before heading to the bathroom to shower. After she showered, Katie changed into pair of black yoga pants and a SI hoodie before slipping on her favorite pair of fluffy slippers and heading for the door.

"JARVIS, if Clint wakes up and wonders where I am, let him know that I'm down in the lab." Katie whispered as she opened the door and headed toward the elevator.

"As you wish." JARVIS replied as Katie stepped through the elevator.

"So JARVIS, have you figured out how to describe your state of being yet?" Katie asked as she leaned back against the wall of the elevator awaiting to arrive at her destination. "How have you been?"

"I have been quite content since your departure, but I must admit that since you've been back I have been—" JARVIS paused and Katie lifted her head slightly. It was moments like this that intrigued her beyond measure. It was as if he was thinking. "More." a smile pulled at Katie's lips as the doors to the lab opened.

"You will probably never understand how much you amaze me JARVIS." Katie said pushing herself from the wall. "And just so you know I have been more as well." When she stepped off the elevator, Katie didn't expect Tony to pop out from behind one of the computers startling her. "Son of a—" she placed a hand over her heart. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I live here." the man replied. "Actually I own here. So I think I'm the one who gets to ask what the hell you are doing here? Can't sleep?"

"Well it would seem neither can you." Katie replied walking over to stand beside Tony. His eyes looked up to the holo screen in front of him that showed different equations and blueprints. "This looks like fun." Katie reached up and began zooming in on some of the diagrams, not noticing the smile Tony had as he watched her. "What is it?" she glanced over to him as he turned to the hologram.

"It's called the Ultron Program and I'm pretty sure it's going to change the world."

"You think everything you do is going to change the world." Katie muttered turning back to the screen and expanding one of the equations.

"Well this is."

"Sure it is."

Tony turned to Katie, before bringing his arms around her in a tight bear hug that made her groan before he placed a kiss on her head.

"Ugh, I still don't want your billionaire cooties."

"Too damn bad kitten."


	38. Chapter 38

The one thing Katie knew about the inevitable, was that no matter how much you ignored it, how much you tried to fight it, it would inevitably happen. It had been two months since she returned and she's made peace with practically everyone. There was still one person she seemed to be holding off on the forgiveness. The one person she found herself holding at a higher stature than the others.

Katie sat on the couch in her office with a hand rubbing her belly mindlessly. When this day started she didn't know she would be here. Of course everyday she said she was going to do it, but she never did. For some reason today seemed like the day. No, it was the day and so Katie sat up straight and took a deep breath.

"JARVIS, initiate secure video conference." and soon a hologram screen appeared in front of her.

"Who do you wish to call?" JARVIS asked and Katie hesitated for a moment.

"Acronym U.N.C.L.E." she whispered and then all there was to do was wait. The video was taking quite some time to connect and after a couple of minutes she decided to just take it as a sign that this shouldn't happen. "JARVIS—" Then his face appeared in front of her. Phil Coulson.

"This is a surprise." he said with a slight smile that she didn't return. "I thought for sure that I was the last person you wanted to talk to."

"You are." Was Katie's reply as she tilted her head slightly. There seemed to be something different about him. Something in his eyes. She figured the job was probably getting to him. "But this meeting was inevitable. At some point it was going to happen and so I decided I would control when it happened."

"I'm not sorry." Coulson said and he could tell she didn't expect those words. "Sure there were lies and secrets, but in the end the result was the same. Your safety. Your parents safety. I'm sorry if you can't understand why that was important. And I'm sorry if you have hurt feelings over the matter. I'm not sorry that I did everything in my ability to make sure your life wasn't cut short." He took a deep breath, and Katie watched as he seemed to sit back in his seat. He looked as if he'd been waiting to say those words for a long time.

"I'm creating life." Katie said unexpectedly. Coulson was understandably confused, but he didn't say anything. He knew there was usually reasoning behind such subject changes from the woman. Katie dropped her head, spreading her fingers across her belly. "Like right now, in this moment, life is being shaped and formed inside of me, so—" she lifted her eyes back to man on the screen. "I'm deciding to refuse to let this control me any longer. I'm letting go of SHIELD and the lies of my parents, the secrets and I’m going to make sure this life I'm creating comes into this world safe, healthy and surrounded by love."

"Well that's—"

Katie held up a hand to stop him, because she wasn't finished.

"That being said, I'm not sure the twists and turns that have to happen inside of you for you to have to be the director of a fallen government agency, and I won't even pretend to know the dilemmas you have to face everyday, what I do know is that I used to know what Agent Phil Coulson stood for. I think I partially understood the cold and calculated agent who secretly had a heart of gold. I don't know Director Coulson and because of that I don't think I trust Director Coulson." Katie leaned in as much as she could, hoping the seriousness was clear in her eyes. "So takes these next words as you will. If my life, my personal life, my family’s lives somehow get tangled up in your duties as Director, if you find yourself in a position where you have to decide if you're going to have to make decisions or control the things of my life I think you should know that I will become a problem for you and I think we both know what me as a problem could do."

"We do." was the simple reply.

"Good." Katie replied with a smile before standing to her feet. "Nice talk. Just so you're aware, this wasn't about me needing an apology. I understand the reasons for apologies, but I also understand that apologies for all intents and purpose are pointless. They change nothing. It's what you choose to do next that matters."

"It's a tough job. Fury made it look easy." Coulson said and Katie nodded.

"I get it, but you weren't chosen because you're Fury. We all know what happened under Fury's reign. He morally compromised himself in the name of what he thought SHIELD was supposed to be. You're not Fury, you're Coulson. Try to remember what that means."

"Katie, Mr. Stark is requesting your presence in the lab." JARVIS called and Katie sighed looking back to Coulson.

"I guess you should get going."

"Yeah, I probably should." Katie replied. The pair stared at each other for a moment longer in silence, saying the things with their eyes that neither needed to say with words. They always had an understanding. Both hoped the mistakes of the past weren't enough to destroy that. "Bye." and with that the video ended. Katie stood there for a moment, replaying the whole conversation in her head before shaking her head and heading for the door. The moment she pulled it open, she stopped dead in her tracks to prevent herself from bumping into her husband. "You know I thought you were kidding when you said you were going to wait out here for me."

"How did it go?"

"As expected, but the air is clear and lines are clearly drawn. And, oof—" Katie's hands went to her belly, as the baby seemed to go into a fit of kicking. Clint's hands quickly went to Katie's waist to steady her. "Seriously kid." she looked up to Clint who couldn't help the smile on his face. "You wouldn't be smiling if you were on this end."

"Aw, come on son—" Clint said bending over slightly to speak to Katie's belly. "Give your mom a break. She still needs some of those vital organs you're kicking."

"Son? Really? This again?"

"You can doubt me all you want Kat, but I will bet my life that there is a boy in there." Clint slid his hands around her back and pulled her closer. She came easily, wrapping her arms around his neck in return. "I have a sixth sense about this. There is a Clint Jr. in there and in twenty eight days, I'm going to prove it to you."

"Such big words, how about you put your money where your mouth is." Clint was already leaning in closer, subtly pushing Katie back into her office. "A friendly wager."

"You think I won't?" he asked as they lowered themselves onto the couch, Clint repositioning himself so he didn't press down any weight on top of her.

"You seem pretty confident." Katie replied raising her leg to wrap around his hip. Clint's hand moved from her leg slowly, sliding over her inner thigh, but stopping when a British voice broke through the room.

"Sorry, but Mr. Stark is adamant about your presence in the lab." JARVIS said and Clint groaned loudly dropping his head to Katie's chest.

"JARVIS, tell Tony that we had a discussion about patience. Tell him I will be there soon."

"As you wish."

"You know I could've sworn I heard Franklin say something about you taking it easy. I don't think you spending everyday in that lab with a crazy, ego-maniac is taking it easy."

"Well I could be spending my days with a cold, constipated assassin," Clint couldn't help but laugh as he rose his head to meet her eyes. "but what do I know?" Katie smiled, that smile and Clint couldn't help it, his lips crashed into hers with a need that only she could fulfill.

"I'm sorry to interrupt again, but—"

"JARVIS, you're killing me!" Clint yelled causing Katie to laugh.

"He's not going to go away." Katie said placing a kiss to Clint's cheek. "I'll go, and then I'll come back you are going to surprise me with something."

"Really, and what is that?"

" I don't know, but it's going to be good. Now get off me." she pushed his shoulders and Clint reluctantly pulled himself from her, before reaching out a hand to help her to her feet.

"Alright, but you are to take it easy. You get tired, you stop working. You get hungry, you eat something."

"Don't worry, I'm going to be fine. You just worry about that surprise you have planned for me." she placed a quick kiss to his lips before slipping around him out the door. Clint walked her to the elevator, giving her a wave as the doors slid closed. The moment she was gone, Clint took out his cell phone and pressed a single digit before bringing it to his ear. He was listening to the ringing, when he turned and saw Natasha walking over. He held up a finger just when the line was picked up.

"Hey, it's me."

_"Me who?"_

"Hawk you idiot. I was just calling to get a status report."

_"I told you, it'll be done when it's done. Trust me."_

"I don't trust you as far as I could throw you, but right now I have no choice but to let you do the one thing I can't afford to be screwed up right now."

_"Being a little over-dramatic aren't you, Hawk?"_

"No, I'm not. Just don't screw this up."

And with that Clint hung up the phone and looked over to Natasha who just shook her head.

"Aren't these supposed to be the happy times? Before the crying and the diapers?"

"I am happy. I'm like the happiest guy you will ever meet. That doesn't change the fact that if he messes this up for me, I will kill him with my bare hands."

"You're not overreacting at all " she replied sarcastically as they headed for the elevator.

"Where are we going?"

"Thor is supposed to be heading our way soon. I think he may have a lead on Loki's scepter that mysteriously disappeared." Clint simply nodded as the stepped onto the elevator. "So, you guys think about any names yet?" Clint looked over to her with a smile. "Because Natasha is a strong name, solid." she refused to look at him with that stupid grin on his face. "I will hit you."

"Don't worry it made the list." Clint said and Natasha turned with a quirked eyebrow. "We both created lists of possible names but we’re still deciding on what to choose."

"Who else made the list?"

Katie walked into the lab, where she found Tony standing in the same spot she thinks she left him the day before when she was here. When he glanced up and spotted her, he walked over to a nearby table and grabbed a cup, and poured some of his smoothie before bringing it over to her.

"Here, drink."

"Everyday I'm here, you try to get me to drink this and every time I tell you the same thing."

"I don't understand how you can say you love that kid when you're not willing to do everything to ensure they are healthy. This is filled with lots of things to create a healthy, plump baby bird. It also will boost your energy and keep you from falling asleep on me again." he pushed the cup in her hand before turning and walking back over to the specs on the hologram. "Something is still missing."

"Tony what you're trying to do is literally ground breaking and ground breaking doesn't happen overnight. These things take time."

"I don't have time. The next alien attack could be tomorrow and in a couple of weeks I lose my—" he glanced over to Katie and seemed to stop his words. "Look, I just want this program up and running."

"And I think looking at this everyday is going to drive you mad." Katie replied sitting down the smoothie and walked over to him. "Lets do something fun." Tony looked over to her with a furrowed brow.

"I'm listening." Katie grabbed Tony's hand and pulled him with her from the the lab.

They ended up in Tony's living room, staring up to the large screen in front of them. Both had their hands in a large bowl of popcorn laughing like fools.

"We should stop, right?" Katie asked in a fit of laughter unable to take her eyes off the screen. "Like this is mean. Evil maybe."

"No, this is entertaining. And if he didn't want to fall victim then he shouldn't make it so easy."

Steve sat in one of the common areas of the tower with his Stark Pad in his lap still trying to figure out how to get back to a previous page, when the television suddenly turned on. He lifted his head in confusion before reaching over and pressing the power button on the nearby remote. Steve shook his head before glancing back down to the tablet.

"I just want to read the news, not learn more about viagra." he muttered as the shades of the room began to slide close, before stopping and lifting back up. "What the heck is going on here?" There were a couple of beeps from his tablet, and Steve's brow furrowed even deeper in confusion. "No, I'm not looking for a good time. What—" suddenly the blender in the kitchenette came on, and the sound of a cuckoo clock echoed through the room even though there wasn't a cuckoo clock anywhere in the building. It wasn't until he heard the sound of a rooster crow did he realize someone was messing with him. And if he had to guess, he thinks he knows who's juvenile enough to take pleasure in such pranks. "Very funny Stark!"

Katie and Tony couldn't stop laughing as they watched the man stand to his feet and stalk out of the room with his tablet under his arm.

"You're a child!" Steve called as he left.

"The rooster was a bit much." Katie said with a shake of her head. "We could've dragged that out a little longer."

"Well pranking Capsicle is only entertaining for so long." Tony replied as they laid back on the couch.

"Pft, you better not be growing up on me." Katie replied laying back as well. "I don't think I would be able to handle it if you're the most grown up one between us."

"Never." Tony replied.

"So..." Katie said closing her eyes and folding her hands over her stomach, something she does often now. "Do you know what today is?"

"Wednesday, I think." Tony replied turning away in thought. "No, it's Thursday, right?" he looked back over to her. "Give me a hint."

"Ok, so yeah, you're working too much. It's Wednesday, and that's not what I was asking." Katie gave him a smile. "Six years ago today, you were hacked." a smile came to Tony's lips. "This beautiful, genius of a woman saw some interview of this jackass of a billionaire talking about his impenetrable, bullet proof firewall and a challenge was set and she just couldn't turn it down. So she typed like a mad person and finally got in. She thought she was undetected, but she underestimated the jackass and so the next day when she walks into her apartment from a long day at the coffee shop, she finds him sitting at her desk and the first words he says—" she points to Tony for him to continue.

"You're a chick." Tony say with a laugh. "That's not today, is it? Six years, wow." Tony turned and brought a hand over Katie's stomach, smiling at the little kicks he felt. "We have come a long way haven't we kitten?"

"Yes we have Mr. Stark. You're about to become Mr. Pepper Potts, and a human being is about to be torn from my body."

"So has big bird decided to accept my offer to design the nursery?" Tony asked and Katie sighed. "I have people who could come in and do it no time flat."

"I told you that it will happen, when it happens. Clint's just not really keen on any outside help on this one. This is something he wants to do, what he wants to build with his own hands for his child."

"Well that will take too long, and this kid could be here tomorrow." Tony said before jumping to his feet. "If he's not careful, my little iron boy will be sleeping in one of my suits."

"Your little iron boy? So you think it's boy too?" Katie shook her head as she grabbed the nearby bowl of popcorn. "I hate to burst your bubble, but this is a little iron girl." Tony suddenly dropped to the coffee table in front of Katie, a look a seriousness on his face that almost scared her.

"Do you know that for a fact?" Tony asked, and Katie's brow furrowed at such a dramatic mood change. "I could've sworn that Franklin didn't reveal the sex at the last appointment." Tony turned away in thought. "Unless he lied. That's something he would do."

"Tony what the hell is this about?" Katie asked and Tony turned to her with a shake of his head before standing to his.

"Nothing, lets get back down to the lab." he held out a hand to help her up, but she only looked at him more suspiciously. She grabbed his hand and let him help her to his feet. The moment she was standing, Tony reached behind him and hissed. "Ow, my back." Katie swatted his arm and pushed him out the way.

"That's still not funny!" Katie called back to him, heading back to the elevator, a bowl of popcorn held firmly in her hands.

"Yes it is." Tony muttered as he followed behind her.

When Bruce finally arrived to the lab, he spotted Tony sitting behind his desk, doing something on his computer and he looked over to see Katie propped up on one the chairs asleep.

"Am I crazy?" Bruce asked and Tony glanced up to him and shrugged.

"Maybe, I don't know dude. I don't judge."

"No, I mean I could've sworn just yesterday, me and you had this conversation about you not calling her to work. She's eight months pregnant."

"Really? I just thought she was packing on a couple of extra pounds." Tony said standing to his feet and walking to the other side of the lab, hopefully giving the man the hint that he didn't want to be in this conversation. "I am aware of that Bruce, thanks for reminding me though. If she doesn't want to be here, then she wouldn't come."

"Yes she would!" Bruce called and Tony shook his head. "You know she would because she cares about you. Look at her—" Tony let out a dramatic sigh before bringing his eyes to Katie who was still asleep, her head being propped up by her hand.

"Alright, what am I supposed to be looking at?"

"Tony she reached her third trimester which means at any moment, like seriously any moment she could go into labor. And the stress—"

"Well there! You can end all arguments there, because she's not stressed. Not here. She loves it here, she loves the puzzle of it all and the numbers. You know this. I could barely get her to eat when we were designing Veronica." Tony glanced over to Katie with a shake of his head. "So she gets tired...a lot, she'll wake up and be ready to get back into the game." he looked over to Bruce who noticed something before turning away.

"What is this really about?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Tony said before turning back to his holocomputer.

"Sir, Ms. Romanoff, Mr. Barton, and Thor are still waiting for your presence upstairs."

"Tell them I'm on my way." Tony said not even making a move to make that statement true. "Five minutes."

"What's going on?" Bruce asked.

"I don't know. Thor's back and they think he may have found Loki's scepter." Tony grumbled in annoyance, wishing to end the distraction. "You should go and tell them I'm on my way in ten minutes." Bruce let out a sigh before turning to Katie and walking over. "She stays though!" Bruce stopped walking and looked over to the man. "What, didn't you just say not even a minute ago that she needed to be taking it easy?" Tony pointed over to her, light snore still escaping her nose. "It doesn't get any easier than that."

"You're a very sad man Tony." Bruce said before continuing over to Katie and placing a hand on her shoulder. He gave her a gentle shake, and her eyes fluttered open.

"Why?" she asked, her voice still rough from blinked a few times before realizing where she was. "Did I fall asleep again?"

"Yeah, if you were tired you should've went back to the apartment."

"Why would she do that when there's a perfectly good chair right there." Bruce ignored the man with a shake of his head. "She's fine, just leave her alone."

"No, I'm awake, I awake." Katie began standing up and Bruce made sure to grab her arm to help her. "Ok, I'm ready for my second wind." she took a step toward Tony, but stopped. "You know what first, I should eat something." she turned to Bruce. "You game?"

"Yeah, but probably after this team meeting."

"What team meeting?"

"The one Tony has been avoiding and probably not telling you about." Bruce said and they both turned to Tony who simply shrugged.

"If it was really that important the sky would be falling." Tony said turning back to his computer.

"JARVIS, system shut down." Katie spoke and every computer in that lab just shut off. Tony turned to her with narrow eyes.

"I kicked you out of the driver's seat."

"Well I snuck back in." Katie said walking over to the dry erase board that held her and Tony's name, dash marks underneath them. She drew a dash under her name, now putting her in the lead by only one. "Now, come on." she turned back to Bruce. "You think there will be food?"

Bruce, Katie and a very annoyed Tony walked into the common area where they found Thor, Steve, Natasha and Clint along with Maria Hill.

"Took your sweet time getting up here, huh Stark?" Clint asked, clearly annoyed with the wait.

"Time is money Barton, and I'm not making any being up here, so what's the what?" Tony asked walking in and dropping on the couch. The others gathered around, well not all. Katie inched around the room still hoping that there was food somewhere.

Thor opened his mouth to speak, but stopped and lifted his eyes to Katie was still just mindlessly searching. The others followed his gaze over to the woman, who stopped when she noticed all the eyes on her.

"So, no one brought food?" she asked and they all just stared at her. "Sorry, important meeting." she walked over and took the seat beside Clint, his hand instinctively wrapping around her. "Go on."

"Loki's scepter is still here on Midgard." Thor announced.

"We've been scouring the globe for any energy bursts that could help us zero in on where the scepter is." Maria said walking over and pulling up a holographic map. "All signs point here. Sokovia."

"How the hell did Loki's scepter get from New York to Eastern Europe?" Clint asked with a shake of his head.

"Sokovia?" Katie muttered, the name sounding too familiar. She stood to her feet and walked over to the map. "I've seen that name before. JARVIS, pull up the files we have on HYDRA and highlight any mentions of Sokovia." soon a holographic screen appeared in front of them. With a finger she sifted through the files until she found the one she was looking for. "Here it is." she opened the file and expanded it so everyone could see. "HYDRA outpost, under the leadership of Baron Wolfgang von Strucker."

"Exactly." Maria said with a nod. "My intel tells me that Strucker has been using the scepter to experiment on people."

"What kind of experiments?" Steve asked and Maria shrugged.

"I don't know, but I doubt anything we want loose on our planet." Maria said looking over them. "So team, you ready to suit up?"

And just like that, it was time for the Avengers to once again assemble. Katie stood off to the side, watching as everyone except for her and Maria began getting ready.

"It won't be so bad." Maria said nudging Katie's arm. "Sometimes being the eyes and ears is just as important as being the muscle."

"Yeah, but being out there is more fun." Katie replied before walking over to Clint, who was already suited and ready to go. When he turned to her, he could see the worry in her eyes he was sure she was trying to hide. "Do you have enough arrows?"

"I have more than enough." Clint said looking down to Katie as she ran her hands over his kevlar vest, making sure it's secure. "You're not worried about me, are you Kat?" she met his eyes and smiled, letting her hands just rest on his chest.

"We used to go out there and fight knowing that the end was a possibility that we could live with. It's different now." Clint's hand, slid to her stomach, and he smile at the flutter under his fingers.

"The end is no longer a possibility I'm willing to accept." Clint said before bringing his lips to hers in deep, passionate kiss that left her breathless. He dropped his forehead to hers, his eyes staring down into hers, trying to soak as much of this moment up as he could before he had to leave her. "I have a lot to fight for and I am going to. Don't worry, I'm coming back."

"You better." Katie said grabbing his vest and pulling him back into one final kiss before they had to separate.

"Alright, jet is fueled an ready." Tony said walking back out and scrunching his face in disgust as he looks upon Katie and Clint. "Do you two have to do that like all the time."

"Yes we do." Katie said before giving Clint one final peck to the lips before finally letting him go. "Alright people, since I'm benched for this fight, I will be the voice in all your heads."

"Does that scare anyone else?" Bruce asked and Katie tossed him a pointed look. "Kidding."

"So because I'm not there, Hill and I will still have your backs. Just listen. I mean I love impulses as much as the next guy, but successful impulses are rare, so just do what I say and you all will live." they all stared at her, a little put off by her word choice.

"So we're all going to be Barton?" Tony asked gaining a glare from the archer that he ignored before clapping his hands. "Alright people, lets go to a foreign country and blow shit up!" and with those departing words, Tony turned and headed toward the elevator that lead to the helipad on the roof.

"Be careful Iron Ass!" Katie called out to him and he just turned and gave her a wink.

"I always am Kitten." Tony replied before the doors slid closed.

"Everyone in favor in leaving Stark in Sokovia, say I." Clint announced raising his hand.

"I," came the echoed responses from the team as they too headed for the elevator.

"Hey, you guys better bring him back!" Katie playfully threatened as she watched the team pile onto the elevator. She gave them all a wave goodbye before the doors closed and they were gone.

"Alright Chambers—"

"Barton." Katie corrected.

"It's still too weird to say." Hill said with a slight shake of her head before turning to Katie and placing her hands on her shoulders. "I have one rule and one rule only and it's non negotiable."

"I'm listening."

"This kid—" she pointed to Katie's stomach. "—does not get here before they do, got it?"

"I will definitely do my best."

"No seriously, do not go into labor because I will not be as calm and collected as you would like." Maria said before turning and heading over to the computers. "And I'm not even joking."

"This is going to be a blast." Katie sighed walking over as well and taking a seat. "Alright JARVIS, get me satellite imaging of the area surrounding the facility. Hill—"

"I'm already bringing up the schematics of the building."

"Alright, lets do this." Katie said with a clap of her hands that made Maria look over to her. "Sorry, I've been spending way too much time to Tony."

When Katie got word that they were there already, she could feel her heart pick up speed, which caused the baby inside of her to start doing back flips.

"Wow, that plane really does go fast." Katie muttered as she walked over to expand the satellite images. "Alright com check, let me hear those purdy voices."

_"Captain, checking in."_

_"Widow here checking in and thinking this is lame."_

"I think there's snow in Sokovia this time of year, so if a snowball at some point could find her face, I'd do a cartwheel."

_"Be nice dear, Hawk checking in."_

_"What do I do now?"_ Thor asked and Katie couldn't help but laugh a little. " _Oh, uh Thor Odinson, god of thunder, wielder of the Mjölnir and—"_

 _"Just say checking in Thor!_ " came a chorused response from the others.

_"Checking in Lady Katherine."_

_"I'm here, the other guy will be here, so we're checking in."_

"Last but not least, Mr. Stark are you all suited up and on line."

 _"You know I am kitten and let me say it's a pleasure to have your voice in my ear. Don't look at me like that Barton, we're a team and a team should always be honest."_ Katie looked over to Maria who simply shook her head as she stood staring at the maps.

"Alright, how about we focus now. You're headed into some heavy man power here, probably a couple of dozen men and Strucker will know the moment you breach his perimeter." Maria stated as she looked to the map. "Divide and conquer is going to be your best bet here."

"JARVIS, give me thermal imaging of the base." Katie said taking a step back from the screen. "Maria look at this." Maria walked over to stand beside Katie, seeing the light blue area that covered the building.

"What the hell is that?"

"Looks like some kind of energy shield." Katie said. "Must be the scepter. Did you guys hear that?" she got an echo of affirmatives. "Be careful, we don't know what this is, or if it makes body parts fall off."

_"She's joking right?" Steve asked._

"No Steve, I'm not. Be careful."

And so the mission went on. Katie looked on as her friends fought with everything they had against Strucker's men. She kept her eyes open for any and every possible blind side, hoping to help them any way she could from a tower all the way in New York.

 _"Shit!"_ Tony cursed as he tried to flying into the building only, to just bounce back.

 _"Language."_ Steve warned without thinking. _"Any idea how to penetrate the field."_

"JARVIS and I are working on it. " Katie announced opening another screen that showed JARVIS searching for possible ways to get around the force field. "And I'm sorry, did you really just say, language?"

_"It just sort of slipped out."_

_"Sure it did Cap._ " Tony said.

" _I'm never going to be able to forget this am I?"_

"What the hell was that?" Maria said walking over to one of the screens. Katie followed her line of sight just in time to see a blue light flicker across the screen. "Did you see that?" Katie tried to follow where the flicker was going on the different screens she had open. It wasn't until her eyes landed on Clint did she stop breathing.

"Bart, look—" before she could even speak, she watches as Clint's knocked off his feet, and a man appears above him.

" _You didn't see that coming?" he asks before speeding away._

Clint had just stood to his feet, and before anything else could be said, he was shot right in the side, a pained grunt escaping his lips.

"No." Katie whispered, stumbling back, but Maria was their to grab and stead her.

_"Clint's hit!"_

Those were the last words Katie heard and suddenly everything around her seemed to disappear in that moment. At some point, Maria got her to sit, but she wasn't responding to her in any way shape or form. It wasn't until she heard his voice did she let the world back in.

 _"Kat, I'm fine."_ Clint said and Katie lifted her head to the screen to see Natasha helping him to his feet.

 _"I got him._ " Natasha said, dodging as best she could more shots from a nearby bunker. _"Will someone do something about that bunker!?"_ and in a matter or seconds The Hulk barrels through the bunker like it's nothing. _"Thank you. We're heading back to the jet."_

 _"Now that we know the big bird is fine, can someone tell me if I'm closing in."_ Tony said flying above the bunker. Katie stood to her feet and looked over to images of the energy field.

"JARVIS, there." Katie said pointing to an open patch.

"Sir, there's a path away, above the north tower." JARVIS informed.

" _Great I want to poke it with something."_ Tony replied.

Maria grabbed Katie's arm and tried to pull her back, but Katie pulled away.

"I'm fine."

"You were just seconds away from a nervous breakdown." Maria argued. "I don't know whose idea was to have you be here for this, but whoever it was needed to be punched in the face. This—" she pointed to the screens. "This is stress. This stress is not good for that—" she pointed to Katie's stomach. "Tony told me that if it looked like this was getting to you then I could kick you out."

"Seriously?"

"Oh, I'm oh so serious." Maria said taking a step toward the woman. "You leave now." Katie stared angrily at the woman, glancing back to the screens before pulling the comlink from her ear and tossing it to the floor before turning and stalking out of there. "The Sparrow has been kicked out of the nest."

 _"Is she alright?"_ Clint asked, letting out a hiss as Natasha applied gauze to his wound.

"She's fine, this was definitely not the kind of show she needed to be watching right now." Maria said looking up to the screens as she watched all the explosions and gun fire. "Whoever voted her here, I'm hitting you when you get back."

 _"In my defense,"_ came Steve's voice in response. _"She threatened me when none of you were looking."_

"You're a super soldier!" Maria countered.

_"And she has this look that freaks me out!"_

Katie returned to the lab, where she paced back and forth her hands mindlessly rubbing her stomach. She hated it, but she knew Maria was right. Katie thought she was tougher than this, but as she stood there watching as all of her friends seemed so close to death, it all became a little too much. When Clint was shot, she felt the world around her crumbling underneath her. She knew it was the hormones, that every emotion she feels will be magnetized, it still doesn't make her feel better. She doesn't like having to stand there and watch it all happen, not being able to help in the slightest.

"JARVIS, bring up the video footage right before Clint was shot." Katie ordered and soon the video appeared, and Katie spotted the flash of blue light, until he stopped. "Pause it there." she walked over to the screen and looked at the man, whose hair completely white. "Initiate facial recognition."

"Katie, I have been told to tell you that the team as secured the scepter and are in route to returning."

"Was Clint the only one injured?"

"Yes, but Mr. Stark has already called in Dr. Helen Cho to treat him." Katie closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh. If Helen was called then it was probably pretty bad. She usually only tended to the team in really bad cases.

"Patch me directly to Clint please JARVIS."

"As you wish."

Katie walked over and took a seat, placing her hands on her stomach finding the baby had slightly settled.

"You know you suck at surprises."

_"I will get better I promise."_

"I think the baby's sleeping."

 _"Good, now if only mama would follow suit."_ came his voice, but she could hear the tension when he spoke, the pain he was trying to hide. " _I'm fine Kat, alright?"_

"Tell everyone I'm sorry I lost it back there. I thought I could handle seeing and not doing, but it turns out I get all girly when I see my husband shot at closed range with a very powerful gun." Katie closed her eyes and once again let out a deep sigh finding her mind traveling back to that house in the small town where everything was just so quiet and calm.

_"Kat, no one is upset."_

"I am. I'm angry with myself for getting so damn emotional. There is no room for emotions in battle."

 _"Yeah, well you're eight months pregnant and I hear that means you're just bursting with emotions right now."_ she heard him grunt in pain and Katie let out a deep sigh.

"We shouldn't do this now. You're hurt and I'm—I don't know what I am right now. You should take it easy right, and I'm not helping."

 _"Trust me Kat, hearing your voice helps way more than any medicine right now."_ Katie smiled and she heard distant voices. _"Bite me Stark. I think you're right maybe we shouldn't talk now. I will see you soon."_

"Yes you will."

_"Please try to get some sleep."_

"Sure."

_"Why don't I believe you? Kat—"_

"Bart, I'm—" she began crumpling paper to imitate a static interference. "Going...through...wormhole."

_"I married a child. Kat, get some sleep, I will see you soon."_

"I love you Mr. Barton."

_"I love you Mrs. Barton."_

Katie let out another sigh, feeling the world once again making sense after realizing Clint really was ok.

"JARVIS, end transmission please." Katie said as she hoisted herself to her feet, an action that now seemed more like a chore then anything else. "Give me Clint's bio-scan." suddenly a full body image JARVIS had just scanned of Clint appeared in front of her. "His heart rate is elevated, but that could be from the adrenaline of the fight. Tell me about the wound." there wasn't an initial response and Katie lifted her head slightly. "JARVIS?"

"Mr. Stark has ordered me to desist all requested updates on Mr. Barton's status. I am to report that he is still alive and insist that you retire for the evening. But first he says that you should place a dash under his name."

"Smug bastard, tell Tony, if I wasn't a mess right now, I'd embarrass him with how fast I could take the controls, but I'm going to let him have this one." Katie walked over to the dry erase board and added a notch under Tony's name.

Katie closed her eyes and just shook her head as stood there wanting nothing more in this moment to just see him. Sure she was told he was fine, but she just needed to see it for herself.

"Mr. Barton's survival rate is one hundred percent." JARVIS spoke and Katie opened her eyes in confusion.

"JARVIS did you just disobey an order?"

"I am not to answer any questions asked by you on Mr. Barton's health status, Mr. Stark did not say anything about me just telling you." Katie's eye brows rose at the response, because she didn't expect it. It had been happening a lot with her non existent friend.

"Why would you do that?" Katie asked turning and taking a couple of steps forward.

"You blood pressure increased, and so did your stress levels, and the chances of a physical reactions was multiplied." Katie thought over that answer as well before a sudden realization struck.

"You're trying to comfort me." Katie stated with a smile. "You noticed my emotional distress could lead to physical reactions and so you gave me information to offset those emotions. JARVIS, that's comfort!"

"Has it proved effective?" JARVIS asked and Katie smiled with a sigh.

"Yes, but I'm still worried about him so if you could just let me know when they arrive." Katie nodded before walking toward the elevator.

Maria spent most of that night sitting on the couch watching Katie pace back and forth over and over again. In all her years as an agent she doesn't think she's seen anything so nerve wrecking.

"Please sit, please just sit down, I'm begging you." Katie glanced over to Maria with a roll of her eyes, but she kept pacing. "He's fine, everyone you've talked to told you he was fine and yet you're still a nervous wreck, why?"

"I keep seeing it." Katie said twirling her finger beside her head. "Him being shot and it's weird—" she glanced over to Maria once again. "He's been hurt before, I've witnessed it and when I saw that happened, I felt like I couldn't breathe." Katie kept pacing, the movement in itself keeping her sane at the moment. "And I have absolutely no idea why."

"Well while you figure it out, could you please just sit down." Maria was practically pleading at this point. "You know I think I read something about expecting mothers walking a lot to induce labor." Katie stopped suddenly, her hand grabbing her stomach as a pained moan escapes her lips. She looks over to the frightened expression on Maria's face, and couldn't help the smile from spreading on her lips. "That' not funny. You're such an asshole!" Maria placed a hand over her heart that was now racing.

Tony sat behind the wheel of the jet, stretching his neck trying to ignore how sore he felt all over. He looked over to Steve who sat at the wheel beside him before glancing back to Bruce who still seemed to be burying himself in the music that was playing in his ears hoping to calm the beast within. His eyes traveled over to Natasha who sat beside Clint, who held he gut.

"So Barton, while we're not doing anything, have you given any thought to my offer to build a nursery for tweetie?"

"I'm not really in the mood Stark."

"It's just a question, I mean you're cutting it close aren't you? If the baby's born tomorrow, where's it going to sleep?"

"How about you not worry about my kid, I can take care of my family."

"Well from the outside looking in, it just looks like you're procrastinating. And the thing about procrastinators—"

"Stark, why don't you just drop it." Steve said trying to stop an argument that usually happened when the two men engaged in conversation.

"I would listen to him, Tony." Natasha added and Tony didn't even have to look at her to know she was sending him one of her death glares. She turned to Clint who sat beside her, gritting his teeth through the pain. "We should be there soon." Clint simply wordlessly nodded. "Talk to me, it'll take your mind off the pain."

"About what?"

"What other names have made it on the list?" Natasha asked and Clint opened his eyes and looked over to her. "I just want to know what are my chances of being chosen."

"What list?" Steve asked turning to them, not even bothering to apologize for eavesdropping.

"Katie and Clint apparently are creating a list of names they might choose for the baby." Natasha said turning back to Clint. "I was able to get out of him that my name made the list, but that's about it."

"I'm sure whatever name they choose, it will be perfect." Steve replied with a smile before clearing his throat. "But if you guys are really at a loss, Steve or Steven are really good names. Simple you know? You can't go wrong with a good old fashion name."

"Thanks Cap, we'll keep that in mind."

"Well if it is strong name you seek, then there is none mightiest then Thor, a name whose meaning is strength." Thor stated proudly looking down to Clint who was still just trying to make it through this ride.

"Right, I'll let Kat know when I see her." Clint added and Thor nodded with a wide smile before going back over to Bruce to try to pull the man from his funk.

"Well I would tell you how awesome the name Anthony is, but I'm sure my kitten has put it at the top of your little list."

"The world would have to freeze over twice for me to even consider naming my child after you." Clint said closing his eyes and dropping his head back trying to breathe through the pain. "Which is probably why Kat never even suggested it."

"Lies Barton! All lies!"

After a while, Katie had no choice but to finally sit, giving into the needs of her exhausted body. The night sky had turned to early morning, and she was practically fighting to stay awake as she held her head in her hands, her hair falling over her face.

"Alright, enough is enough" Maria said standing above the woman. "If you don't go to bed, I'm calling Franklin and you know how much of a tight wad he's been sense D-Day is in sights."

"D-Day?" Katie asked not even bothering to lift her eyes to the woman. "Is that what you all are calling to day I give birth?"

"Whatever, just go to bed!" Maria ordered and Katie lifted her head to look at the woman. For a moment Maria thought it worked, but instead of standing to her feet, Katie simply spun around to lie down on the couch. "Katie—"

"This is as much as you're getting. Wake me up when they get here." Maria just rolled her eyes before walking off figuring she'd take this win.

_Katie stared down to the rounded, chubby faced sleeping baby swaddled in her arms as she rocked back and forth in the chair. Her entire face was a smile she thinks will be permanently etched onto her face._

" _I don't think I can stop looking at this kid." Katie spoke, sliding a gentle finger along the baby chin. She looked over to Clint who stood in front of her smiling as well as he looked down to her and the baby. "We make very beautiful children Bart." her eyes went back down to the baby, and just shook her head at how perfect this child in her arms was. "Do you want to hold—" she lifted her eyes but Clint was gone. "Bart, where did you go?" she stood to her feet and walked over to place the baby in the crib. "Your daddy's being silly." she gave one final glance to the baby before heading out the door. "Bart, where are you?" she walked the halls of the apartment in search of her husband, each step she can feel her heart picking up speed. "Bart this isn't funny anymore." she stopped when she reached a wall of pictures, her eyes looking at each one. One of her and the baby just after giving birth, one of her and the team, and then another of her holding the baby while sitting in a rocking chair. Each picture was different but held one heart wrenching similarity. No Clint. Katie spun around to the empty apartment, and she could feel her entire world crumbling around her. "Bart! You can't leave me!" she ran to the door and pulled it open, still hoping that he'd just appear. She ran out into the hall of the tower and found nothing but darkness. "Bart!" she screamed practically feeling her heart crushing in her chest._

Katie's eyes snapped open in a slight panic, as the remnants of her dream faded away.

"Hey, you're alright." Katie turned beside her to see Bruce, who had a stethoscope placed against her chest. "You were having a nightmare."

"I told Maria to wake me when you guys got back." Katie said already lifting herself up. She let her eyes look around to realize she wasn't on the couch anymore, but on her bed. "When did I get back up to the apartment?"

"Clint told Maria not to wake you and Steve brought you up here. You're a very deep sleeper did you know that?" Katie looked at the man who looked far more tired than she did. She recognized the look. It's the one he got after changing.

"So the lullaby worked?" Katie asked and Bruce simply nodded. "That's good. At least we know that there is no longer a need for a dehulking device, just an uptight assassin." Katie began sitting up from the bed.

"As a doctor, I would suggest you stay in bed."

"As my friend?"

"Friend?" Bruce joked and Katie swats his arm before standing to her feet. "I would tell you the same thing. Everyone's fine, Clint's being looked at by Cho and Tony's entertaining himself with the scepter."

"You left Tony alone with an alien artifact?" Both shared a look before turning and rushing out of the apartment.

When they reached the lab, both let out a sigh of relief that Tony hadn't destroyed the world before walking out. When Tony glanced over and spotted Katie, he stopped what he was doing, grabbed a cup of his smoothie before walking it over and handing it out to her. 

"Today will just not be the day Tony."

"So do we talk about what happened?" Tony asked and Katie shook her head.

"I would rather not. I'm sorry if I risked the mission, and I will completely understand if that was the last time you guys want me at the helm." Tony just stared at her for a moment before looking over to Bruce.

"Did she just apologize for being human?"

"I think she did." Bruce replied glancing over to Katie. "Plus you didn't risk anything. You did what you said you were going to do, and you did it well."

"Couldn't stop my husband from getting shot." Katie asked turning and spotting Helen in the medical room above the lab. "How is he?" she needed to know before she walked into that room.

"He's fine, still Barton unfortunately." Bruce said and Katie nodded before heading over to the stairs. "Would you please just not." Katie stopped and turned to him with an annoyed look.

"You guys and these stairs." she grumbled walking over to the elevator. "There's like six steps."

"There's twelve and you've become ridiculously clumsy all of a sudden!" Tony called as she stepped onto the elevator. "When you're done worrying over nothing, come back here there's something I want to show you!" Katie just nodded as the doors slid closed.

Katie reached the door to the unit, and just stopped, the memories from her dream seeming to choose that moment to come back to her.

"Hey, you alright?" Katie let out a sigh before turning to see Steve headed toward her, already changed from this Captain America suit.

"You know I probably would be if you guys didn't keep asking me that." Katie replied turning back to the door and once again hesitating. "I don't want to freak out. He doesn't need me to freak out, but I think that's what is going to happen when I go in there."

"He's alright."

"I know that too." Katie said turning back to Steve. "It's the 'could haves' that are playing in my head. What if the shot moved a couple of more inches toward his heart, what if that mysterious speeding man decided to kill him instead of trip him up. This stuff shouldn't be getting to me, because this has been his life and mine for years now, but now—"

"Now you're about to have a baby and you're scared to death that one day he's just not going to come back." Steve said and Katie knew the moment he said them, the words were true. "That's normal, but I think there's something you should know, something you already know I think. When we're out there, we're fighting for the world, but we're fighting for each other as well. No one is left behind and everyone comes home."

"That's easy for a super soldier and a hulk, an Asgardian, a woman whose been trained since birth, and a man who wears a suit, but for him, he's just a guy." Katie turned back to the door. "My guy who wants to save the world with a bow and a couple of arrows. So for him there's always the chance he'll slip through the cracks of that dream you have of everyone coming home nice and safe." she glanced over to Steve. "I don't think I should be eyes and ears anymore."

"Why not?"

"Were you unaware of my meltdown last night? I can't see you guys always inches away from being blown up and still be able to not have a mental breakdown. Maria can do it, I'll just forfeit my part on the team to her."

"Your place on this team isn't something you can give away just because you don't feel useful." Steve said walking over and placing a hand on her shoulder. "You see I know another person whose not a super soldier, a hulk, an Asgardian, a woman whose been trained since birth, and who doesn't wear a suit and she's one of the strongest people I know." Steve reached around her and pushed open the door. "He's fine, really. When you get a chance, I need to talk to you about something."

Katie turned to see Helen standing just at the edge of the table Clint was laying on, looking at a monitor. Her eyes then went to the machine that was moving above her husband and she tried to ignore the twisting in her stomach.

"Who's there?" Clint asked turning his head as best he could, which wasn't far seeing as he's supposed to keep as still as possible.

"It's the waddling sparrow." Natasha said looking over to Katie who hadn't moved from her spot at the door. There was no witty comeback, as expected. Katie's eyes just seemed to be fixed on the hole in her husband's side that was slowly disappearing. Natasha just walked around to Katie, placing a hand on her back and grabbing her arm to pull her over to Clint who reached out a hand. The moment she was close enough, Clint took her hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Kat, look at me." Clint said staring up to Katie's face as she watches the machine work. "Kat—" Katie's eyes finally meet his and he finally sees the fear that she's carrying. He can see how hard she's trying to stay strong in this moment, so he squeezes her hand once again. "How long is this going to take doc?"

"Not to much longer. If you brought him to my lab, the regeneration cradle could do this in twenty minutes." Helen said glancing over to Katie. "I won't be able to thank you enough for your help with that Katie."

"Well keep helping these guys and that will be all the thanks I need." Katie replied looking over to the monitor.

"Oh!" Tony barked coming into the room. "He's flat lining. Call it. Time?" Tony appeared Katie, glancing over to the man and then to the woman holding his hand.

"No, I will live forever and made of plastic." Clint said glancing over to Tony in annoyance. "You know doc, I just got a sudden pain in my ass. Is that normal?" Clint chuckled, glancing up to Katie who hadn't even cracked a smile. "Kat look at me." Katie turned her eyes back to her husband, who smiled up to her.

"Don't worry it will be his own skin." Helen replied and Katie looked back over to her. "You won't even notice."

"Yes she will." Clint muttered his eyes on Katie whose presence here was making this process just a little bit more bearable.

"This is the next thing, Tony. Your clunky metal suits are going to be left in the dust." Helen said smiling over to Tony who shook his head.

"Well that is the plan. I can expect to see you at the party on Saturday."

"There's a party?" Katie asked looking over to him. "Since when?"

"Since we went into a foreign country kicked ass, blew shit up and came out with what we went in there for. We're celebrating success kitten, and yes you will be there." Katie rolled her eyes before turning back to Clint, releasing his hand and walking around the other side of the table, just to make sure he really was fine. "Why do I feel an imaginary force pushing me out of this room?" Tony looked over to Natasha and then Helen. "Do you feel it?" Helen simply nodded before looking over to Clint.

"Don't move from this spot until you hear three beeps, that's when to process is complete, alright?"

"Yeah, thanks doctor." Clint replied before watching as they all filtered out of the room. "Do you want to talk now?"

"No." Katie replied as her hand slides over his kevlar vest once again. She lifted her eyes to his before dropping down to bring her lips to his. It was a very uncomfortable angle, one Clint was hating when the need to bring his arms around her seemed to be getting stronger. Katie pulled away first, letting her forehead fall against his and just breathing in this moment to make sure it was real. That he went to Sokovia, was shot and returned to her. She felt one of Clint's hands find her stomach where she was sure he felt the child inside moving around. "You scared me."

"I know, I'm sorry." Katie stood up straight and combed her fingers through his hair. "I'm fine." he felt the need to keep saying it to her until she finally believed it.

"I know." she sighed. "Did you need anything?"

"I wouldn't turn down one of those weird drinks Tony makes." Clint said and that caused a smile to come to Katie's face.

"I can't believe you like those things."

"Well have you tried it?"

"No, and I don't plan to." Katie said dropping another kiss to his forehead before heading for the door. "I'll be back."

"Sooner would be best for me." Clint said already closing his eyes to try to get a little rest.

"How fast you think I'm going to be moving?"

"I'll probably die of thirst." she heard him mutter under his breath and she stopped and looked back over to him.

"I heard that."

"Blood loss dear, it's messing with my brain I think." Clint said unable to stop from chuckling as he said it.

"Sure it is dear." Katie replied with a shake of her head before finally leaving.

She knew Tony kept more of that weird drink in the refrigerator in the common area kitchen of the tower. When she walked in, she found Maria and Steve who both turned to her. "Am I interrupting?" Katie just went for the kitchenette and opened the fridge. "Clint's thirsty and he like's Tony's mystery smoothie."

"Katie, we need to talk." Steve said and when Katie turned to him she noticed the seriousness etched in his face as he looked at her. "Maybe you should come sit."

"Alright, I'm officially nervous." Katie said walking over and taking a seat on the couch. "Wait, is this about the God parents thing, because I told Tony that we hadn't made a decision yet." Steve shook his head before holding out a tablet to her. She looked down to a picture of a man and woman. The man she recognized from the day before. "Pietro Maximoff, I had JARVIS run a facial scan on him. Who's the girl?"

"Wanda Maximoff, his twin sister." Maria answered walking over to stand beside Steve. "They're mutants." Katie brought her eyes to the woman who simply nodded. "But they weren't born that way we don’t believe." Katie stared in confusion before looking back to the photo. She swiped quickly to the information Maria had found on the pair. "He's got increased metabolism and improved thermal homeostasis. Her thing is neural electric interfacing, telekinesis, mental manipulation." Katie scrolled through the information, only stopping when a name she didn't expect to see appeared on the screen. "I think they're products of an experiment we assumed only one person knew." Katie looked up to Steve and Maria before standing to her feet and heading for the door.

If Katie knew one thing, it was that inevitably, the inevitable always...always happened. Inevitably she would have to face them again, she just didn't think it would be this soon.

"Do you understand what we have to do now?!" Steve called out to her before she could leave. She stopped just short of the door before turning and grabbing Clint's drink from the counter.

"Yeah, I do." Katie replied turning back to them. "Now I get to see my parents again." and with that she turned and left.


	39. Chapter 39

Katie stood off to the side barely listening to Tony who stood with a look of excitement in his eyes. She'd only just handed Clint his drink before the man barreled back into the room, pulling her out rambling off some excuse about not being able to wait for her any longer. She stood beside Bruce, wondering what Tony was so excited about.

"I've been analyzing the gem." Tony said before scanning the data strip and soon bringing up JARVIS data membrane. "You may recognize—"

"JARVIS." Bruce said taking a step back.

"Started out, Jarvis was just a natural language UI. Now he runs the Iron Legion. He runs more of the business than anyone besides Pepper." Tony said as they looked over to swirling and spinning bright orange collection of data that was JARVIS. Katie took a step forward to look it over, and smiled slightly. "Top of the line."

"I suspect not for long." JARVIS commented.

"Meet the competition." Tony said scanning another data strip and soon appearing beside JARVIS, was a larger, blue swirling streams of data. Katie stared with wide eyes as they all walked over to get a closer look at it, unable to miss to astronomical differences between this and JARVIS. "If you had to guess, what does it look like to you."

"Like it's thinking." Katie said tilting her head as she stared into the program that looked more advanced then anything she'd seen before.

"This is—" Bruce stared in equal amazement. "This could be—" he shook his head as he stared, "It's not a human mind, it...I mean, look at this? They're like neurons firing."

"Down in Strucker's lab I saw some fairly advanced robotics work. They deep-sixed the data, but... ...I gotta guess he was knocking on a very particular door." Tony said looking between Bruce and Katie.

"Artificial intelligence." Katie said turning to Tony who nodded.

"This could be it Kitten. Groundbreaking might not have to take years to achieve."

"You want to use this to push the Ultron program?" Katie asked and Tony nodded once again.

"If we can harness this power, apply it to my Iron Legion protocol." Tony said walking over to the new found program.

"That's a big size 'if’. "Bruce replied with a shake of his head.

"Our jobs is 'If' Bruce." Tony countered and Katie took a step forward.

"No our job is reducing the 'if', the uncertainty is what we want to get away from and that—" she pointed to the big, blue ball of light. "That's a big ass ball of uncertainty."

"Tony she's right, we don't know nearly enough—" 

"What if you could be sipping margaritas on a sun drenched beach turning brown instead of green." Tony interrupted. "Not looking over your shoulder for Veronica."

"Hey, don't hate, we built Veronica." Bruce countered, Tony just shook his head before turning to Katie.

"What if you could take my little iron boy to the park and not worry about if the sky is going to open up and suck all of you away?" Tony turned back to the program with that look in his eyes. "What if next time aliens roll up to the club, and they will, they couldn't get past the bouncer?"

"The only people threatening the people would be people." Bruce added at the thought. It was good thought one he could get behind, but there was something about this that he just didn't like.

"It's too simple." Katie said with a shake of her head as both Bruce and Tony turned to her. "I know in your head you see this big answer to the world's problem in this program. But it's simple." she turned back to the light. "And it was created by a crazy person, so my perception of the thing isn't that high."

"You've been spending way too much time with Barton." Tony said and Katie turned a glare to him. "Don't look at me like that. It's true. The woman I met six years ago would look at this and see the possibilities that were held here. This could be it, this could be the end of the world's need for us." Katie turned back to the program at the appealing thought of her husband not needing to risk his life. "Look I can do this, but JARVIS can't download a data schematic this dense. We can only do it while we have the scepter here, that's three days, give me three days."

"So you're going for artificial intelligence and you don't want to tell the team." Bruce stated and Tony nodded.

"Right, we don't have time for the debate, I don't want to hear, "the man was not meant to meddle" medley." Tony said walking back over to the programs. "I see a suit of armor around the world."

"Sounds like a cold world Tony."

"I've seen colder. And this blue one, this very vulnerable blue one, it needs Ultron." he looked back over to Katie who still held uncertainty in her eyes. "Peace in our time. Imagine that."

"If this was right, there wouldn't be any doubt and I have doubts." Katie said turning to Tony. "I want this to be true, that this idea that you've molded and are holding on for dear life for is true, but for me to do that I have to put my faith in something created by Strucker, a man I'm sure created this for nothing other then mayhem." Katie looked to Tony, who held a look of disappointment just for her.

"What are you afraid of?" Tony asked walking over to her. "This what this is, isn't it?"

"Tony—" Bruce took a step forward to stop him, but Tony stopped just a few feet away from her.

"No, I just want to know."

"You know your idea of this big bouncer in the sky who protects the world, it's not original. Alexander Pierce had a similar idea and he called it Insight."

"The difference, they were the bad guys and we're not!"

"No, we're just using their toys!" Katie said before turning and walking away from him toward the door. She stopped before actually leaving, not wanting to leave this type of hostility to fester between them. She turned back to him with a sigh. "I want so badly for the world to no longer need the Avengers. For my husband to leave home and not come back with a hole in his side. I do believe that it can be achieved." her eyes went to the large blue ball of light. "I'm not sure it's with that." she looked over to Tony and sighed. "You want to work on it, I won't stop you and I won't tell the others, but I can't help you. I promised myself a long time ago that every thing I was apart of, I would believe in it wholeheartedly and I won't be able to do that with this. I hope you can understand."

"I don't, but whatever." Tony said dismissively before turning away from her. Katie stood there for a moment before finally turning and leaving.

"That was cold, even for you. She has the right to an opinion, even ones that don't match yours." Bruce said walking over to the man.

"She's afraid of this not working, but this will work Bruce, I know it." Tony said, that look of determination that usually always roped Bruce along for any wild ride Tony was about to take him on. "So are you in?" Bruce turned to the two programs in front of him and wondered if they could even afford not to pursue a better future.

"I'm in."

That night Katie laid in bed, sleep seeming to be the last thing she could do as her hand slides over Clint's side. She doesn't care what Helen says, she can feel the difference.

"You want to tell me what's got you so upset?" Clint asked placing a hand above hers. "You've been quiet ever since we got back."

"One of those days where nothing happens the way you want." Katie replied. "You were hurt and then I find out my parents are going to be making a reappearance in my life, and then there's Tony who's—" she let out a deep sigh as she closed her eyes and nuzzled closer against Clint. "I just want to go home."

Clint took in her words and a smile came to his lips because he knew that he would give that to her. At least when the time was right, which was all depending on someone he didn't completely like, but he would trust for the moment.

The next day found Katie standing in the window on the common area of the tower. Today was the day she would be forced to face her demons, and she wasn't sure how it would all end.

"Hey," Clint said holding out a cup of tea to her. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Katie replied taking the cup and bringing it to her lips for a sip. She really wasn't a tea drinker, but since coffee was no longer an option this was as close as she would get.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." Katie replied looking back out the window. She could feel his eyes on her, so when she turned she just rolled her eyes. "Fine, this makes me nervous. I assumed when I saw them leave that day, I wouldn't see them again and I was alright with that. I was fine with pretending that they really were dead."

"You knew at some point this would happen Kat." Clint replied bringing an arm around her back and pulling her closer to him. She dropped her head on his shoulder and just sighed. "Look this happens only if you want this to happen. You don't feel comfortable with this, then it doesn't. I will make sure it doesn't happen."

"There are two mutants out there who could potentially be a threat. My mother could help us take them out, there is no debate." Katie replied glancing up to her husband. "This happens whether I want it to or not." she placed a kiss on his cheek before pulling away. "I have to use the bathroom now." Clint took the cup from her hand and watched her scurry off to the bathroom. He stood there for a moment, when he heard the footsteps behind him. He turned to see Steve who was looking down to a tablet.

"These things are so annoying." Steve muttered before looking up to Clint. "Hey, where is Katie?"

"Bathroom." Clint replied. "Listen Cap, I think we should talk." Steve saw the seriousness in the man's eyes and just knew what this was about.

"You know I knew this was coming." Steve said sitting the tablet down and walking over to the man. "I know Katie and her parents are a very touchy subject for her, but if this Wanda and Pietro are as dangerous as I believe they are then we gotta do whatever it takes to stop them."

"Oh, and I completely understand that." Clint said taking a step to close the distance between the man. "But if this goes bad and it hurts her, I am going to hit you." Steve smiled and just nodded.

"Well thanks for the warning." Steve replied. They heard the doors to the room open just in time to see Maria walk inside. "Do you have a location?"

"Uh, no. Apparently there are limitations my contact isn't willing to cross." Maria said glancing over to Clint. "Where's Katie?"

"Bathroom." Clint said nudging his head toward the hall. Maria just nodded before turning and heading toward the bathroom.

"What do you think that was about?" Steve asked turning to Clint who simply shrugged before bringing the cup he held in his hand to his lips grimacing at the taste. "Tea?"

"Yeah, it's horrible." Clint said sitting the cup down. "So where's Stark and Banner this morning? It's rare that we don't hear a peep from either of them."

"They're working on something I probably wouldn't understand. If it keeps Stark busy and out of trouble while I try to figure this out, then I'm all for it." Steve replied just as Natasha walked in looking very different. Both men stared with wide eyes at the woman who was wearing very normal people clothing. She wore a pair of beige pants, with a pale pink blouse, with her hair pulled back into a pony tail. "Why am I frightened by this?"

"Because we're seeing Nat in a very unnatural state." Clint says with a quirked brow as he and Steve walk over to the woman. "This has to be for a job." Natasha sent a glare his way as she tossed her bag over her shoulder.

"Rescue mission actually."

"Subject?"

"Your wife." Natasha replied and Clint looked obviously confused. "That breakfast invitation from one Vivian Potts."

"That was today?" Clint asked vaguely remembering Katie mentioning something about some weird invitation from Pepper's mother to breakfast.

"Yeah, and I caught wind of it and thought little Natasha shouldn't be subjected to the harshness that is Vivian Potts."

"Little Natasha?" Steve asked with a slight smile and Natasha sent another glare in his direction. "You know I'm really starting to think you're all pink cotton candy on the inside."

"Wanna find out?" Natasha threatened and the Captain just held up his hands in surrender. "Where is she?"

"Bathroom." Clint said nudging his head toward the hall once again. Natasha simply nodded before turning and stalking off. Once she was gone, Clint turned to Steve with a quirked eyebrow. "Pink cotton candy? Did you want to die today captain?" Steve let out a laugh before heading over to the kitchen.

Natasha walked down the hall where she saw Maria standing against the wall in front of the bathroom door. The moment Hill saw Natasha, she too looked a bit surprised.

"Look at you looking like a norm." Natasha said as the woman walked over. "What's the mission?"

"Potts take down." Natasha said looking at the door and Maria nodded in understanding.

"Oh, that breakfast invitation absolutely no one can understand. Pepper called me this morning and wanted the full low down after it happened." Maria said turning to the door."So I know pregnant women pee like a lot, but is the duration of each visit long as well because she's been in there for a while." Natasha furrowed her brow before taking a step forward to knock on the door.

"Yeah, I'll be right out." came the voice of a woman who'd obviously been crying. Natasha and Maria shared a look before Natasha reached forward to turn the doorknob only to find it locked.

"Open the door please, or I will open it for you." Natasha ordered, her voice tight and serious letting the woman on the other side know that she meant business. "You have five seconds. Five...four...three—" the door was suddenly pulled open and both women looked up to the puffy eyes of Katie who brought tissue to her nose and blew.

"There are other bathrooms." Katie said about to walk past the woman, but Natasha grabbed her arm and pushed her back into the bathroom, Maria right behind her closing the door after they entered.

"What's wrong?" Natasha asked folding her arms over her chest. Katie looked at the woman with confusion. She'd recently began showing vast amounts of affection toward her and it was freaking her out.

"Nothing is wrong. Sometimes I just cry for no reason." Katie replied trying once again for the door, but Natasha moved to block her. "Look fine, yesterday I watched all of you nearly get yourselves killed, then my husband comes home with a hole in his body, and then after all that I find out that my mother has a connection to one of Strucker's little mutant projects. If I wasn't crying right now, I would be blowing shit up." Maria and Natasha shared a brief look before turning back to the woman, both tilting their heads slightly. "Yeah, you're right, I'm being a cry baby." Katie dries her eyes before taking a deep breath and looking back over to Natasha. "Why are you dressed like a soccer mom?"

"Important things first." Maria says. "I talked to Coulson who wouldn't release any information about your parents to me without your permission." Maria pulled her phone from her pocket and pressed a single digit. "Did you want to..." Katie took the phone and brought it to her ear.

_"Hill, this really isn't a good time."_

"It's Katie. We've come across some mutants we think may have a connection to my mother and whatever she was working on. We need what ever information you have on them to find their location."

 _"You won't need it."_ Coulson replies. _"I have their location."_

Katie was silent for a moment. She assumed that when her parents ran, that they could actually hide well enough to evade the all seeing eye of SHIELD's new director.

 _"They actually came to me."_ Coulson added figuring his last bit of information may have surprised the woman. _"They came across some information they thought I should know and wanted to look into more, so we came to an agreement."_

"You give them resources, and they stay under your watchful eye."

_"It works. I no longer worry that they're going to be caught by stray HYDRA members looking to create mutants."_

"I think it's too late for that." Katie says lifting her eyes to Maria. "Send whatever information you have to Hill, and we will take it from there."

_"Will do."_

"Thank you director." Katie replied before ending the call and handing the phone to Maria. "You should be hearing something soon." Maria nodded before Katie turned to Natasha. "Now why are you—wait is that breakfast with Vivian today?"

"Yeah," Natasha says glancing down to her wrist watch. "And you are officially late. You are really helping her perception of you."

"You're not helping my perception of you right now." Katie says with a shake of her head before rushing out of the bathroom.

Clint still stood at the large window of the tower's conference room that looked like anything but conference room. Tony had the large table, but there were screens, and gadgets in the table, then there was a snack and alcohol bar in the corner. When Clint thinks of conference rooms, he thinks of the many briefings he had at SHIELD and how none of them even came close to this, and in all honesty he didn't mind it. Of course he missed some things, the missions and the adventures, but he doesn't think any of those adventures come close to the one he's in now. He was going to be dad soon, and that's one journey he's still not sure he's ready for.

"Any word from Hill?" Steve voice tears into the room suddenly and Clint glances over his shoulder with a shake of his head. "She's supposed to bring Katie's parents here, they were supposed to be here by now."

"You think she ran into some trouble?"

"If she did, I don't think it would be anything she couldn't handle." Steve replies when the door to the room opens and appears Tony who looks absolutely terrible. There are dark circles around his eyes and his clothes are ruffled. "I see you've come out of your cave."

"Hey, language!" Tony says with a pointed finger before walking over to the mini bar. He'd been poking at the captain ever since that little remark every chance he got ."I'm taking a break, and found everyone had disappeared. What are we doing here?"

"Did you even read the message I sent you?" Steve asked in annoyance.

"Uh, no. You didn't send me a message."

"I did, I know I did." Steve says taking out his cell phone and swiping before suddenly stopping. "Oh, I forgot to press send." he glances back up to Tony who shakes his head before going about making his drink.

"Kind of early to be hitting the sauce, isn't it Stark?" Clint asks looking over as the man pours the drink before bringing the glass to his lips.

"That's only true if there's a such thing as too early, and in my tower there isn't." and with that the man takes a slow sip, before letting out a satisfied sigh. " So again, why are we here?"

"The mutants we ran into in Sovokia. We found a connection." Steve says walking over to the man.

"Oh, really?" Tony says leaning over the bar. "Regale me Cap."

"The experiments Strucker was running on the siblings, seemed to be torn out of the playbook of one Cynthia Chambers aka—"

"Angelika Bergkeller." Tony says sitting his glass down and standing up straight. The file of one Angelika Bergkeller was something Tony was quite familiar with. The moment he found out the connection between the woman and his father, he'd become obsessed with finding out as much about her as possible. "My kitten's mom." he glanced over to Clint. "Where is she? She's not hiding is she?"

"No, actually she's at breakfast with your future mother in law." Clint says with a shake of his head.

"I'm sorry, what?" said Tony, not sure why he could actually feel himself getting angry.

"Vivian invited Katie to some breakfast thing, I guess to discuss the wedding."

"That's funny, because I distinctively remember telling Vivian to stay as far away from my kitten as possible until the day of the wedding and even then she's supposed to keep her distance."

"What are you talking about?"

"She tried to talk me out of making Katie my best man and—"

"You know I meant to ask, but are women really allowed to be best men at weddings?" Steve asks and both men turned to him and he just shakes his head. "Never mind."

"Where are they now?" Tony asks turning back to Clint.

When Natasha and Katie arrived at the restaurant, both stood at the door when they entered scanning the room of a very posh crowd. The two women shared a look before turning back out to the crowd in search of Vivian. Once they spotted her, the woman had spotted them as well and waved them to come over.

"You know, I never asked how you got invited to this thing?" Katie whispered as the two women walked over.

"Pepper asked me to tag along. She didn't trust her mother to keep this civil." Natasha whispered back leaving out the part where she actually volunteered to come along in an attempt to act as a buffer between the two women.

"Who's the blonde?" Katie asked noting the cherry blonde woman who was sitting beside Vivian, both looking down to some sort of book.

"Pepper's cousin Jamie, she's Pepper's maid of honor." Natasha says as they finally arrived at the table.

"Oh, Katie." Vivian says standing to her feet with a tight smile that looked like it hurt. The woman threw her arms around Katie in a hug that took her off her guard. She glanced over to Natasha who just shook her head as she sat down. "It has been entirely way too long."

"It hasn't been that long, Mrs. Potts." Katie says as the woman finally releases her from the uncomfortable hug, and they all sit. "Plus we were going to see each other at the wedding, right?"

"Right, that's why I'm here." Vivan says folding her arms over the table. "I wanted to talk to you about your part in the wedding?"

"As Tony's best man."

"Exactly." the woman says with a slight chuckle as she shakes her head. "This best man business, it's a joke right?" Katie quirked a brow unsure how to answer that question without being sarcastic. "I just mean, a best man is usually a man. Or at least it was when I was growing up."

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you're asking me?" Katie asked feeling the patience she had slipping away.

"You're not actually going to stand up there next to my daughter and her future husband, are you?" Vivan asked glancing over to Jamie who just nodded in agreement. "That's—" she turned back to Katie. "That would be inappropriate." a smile tugged at the woman's lips. "You know who would be a perfect choice, that Dr. Banner fellow. He's smart and well known—"

"He turns into a giant rage monster when stressed." Natasha adds grabbing her glass of water. "Perfect person to stick in front of a crowd of people."

"People would remember that wedding though." Katie says with a nod looking over to Natasha.

"Probably make a Leno monologue."

"You're making fun of me?" Vivan asks, the smile dropping and a frown stemming into place. "I tried to be nice—"

"Oh, this is you nice?" Katie asks her voice touching on a tone that will not lead to anywhere good.

"Sparrow—"

"No, Natasha, we're all family here, right?" Katie asks, grabbing her chair and sliding it closer to Vivian. "Let's chat."

Katie wasn't rude and she didn't say a single one of the expletives that was dancing on the tip of her tongue just pleading to be said. She did however in the nicest way possible tell Vivian, that she was Tony's best man, she would stand there at his side on his wedding day and would be there because it's what he asked of her.

"Vivian, you have no choice in this." Katie continues with a small smile. "So let's smile and wave and be cordial until this whole wedding is over and you and me won't even have to breathe the same air." with that Katie looked over to Natasha. "I think now would be a good time to leave."

"I couldn't agree more." Natasha replies at the women stand to their feet.

"And how my daughter feels means nothing?" Vivian asks and Katie stops moving. "You think me being here, and asking this of you is what, because I don't like you?" Katie turns back to the woman. "Your relationship with my daughter's fiance makes her uncomfortable. I see it when she looks at you, when she sees the two of you together. This is her day, hers—" Vivian stands to her feet, a move that causes Natasha to take a step forward in case it triggers something else. "-and forcing her to stand beside the man she's going to marry and the woman he's seemingly obsessed with then—"

"He's not—" Katie interrupts with a shake of her head before turning and storming off. All of her focus at the point was the door, and getting as far away from that woman as possible. That plan was thwarted when someone caught her hand, she didn't realize who it was until she looked up to see Tony.

"I was leaving." She said trying to pull her hand free.

"I don't care." Tony replied with a smile, making sure to wave to the patrons who were now watching them. When they arrived back to the table, Vivian's eyes went wide at the sight of Tony.

"Tony, I didn't expect to see you here."

"Well at some point you figured I would've caught wind of this entire thing, but you were hoping by then the damage would be done and it would be too late." Tony replied pulling Katie to stand beside her, his hand wrapping around her shoulder. "So ladies what was the topic of this brunch?"

"You're making a scene." Katie grit through her teeth as she looked over to him and he didn't look too bothered.

"Hi, I'm Tony Stark, if I'm not making a scene then I'm dead." Tony replied before turning back to Vivian. "So Viv, what was the purpose of inviting my best man here, out for a nice meal, after I specifically requested you not to." he looked over to the woman sitting beside the woman and smile. "Hi Jamie."

"Hi Tony." Jamie replied meekly with a small smile before the man's eyes looked back down to the woman who was to be his future mother in law.

"You know how Pepper feels—"

"And Pepper knows how I feel."

"You know what!" Katie snapped pulling her hand from Tony's and suddenly all eyes go to her. "This shouldn't be as big of a deal as it is, but since it is—"

"No—"

"Yes Tony, since it is, I'm going to be the grown up and just step down."

"No, you're not." Tony argued turning to her.

"Yes I am, Rhodey is going to be your best man."

"No he's not." Tony was shaking his head at this point refusing to accept anything out of her mouth.

"Yes he is. He's known you longer—" she turns to Vivian. "He's a man and he won't upset Pepper by standing next to her at the altar." she turned back to Tony who now wore a very angry frown. "Plus he's secretly been moaning and groaning about not being picked, so it's a win-win-win."

"I don't win in this scenario." Tony argued.

"At the end of the day you get to marry the woman you love." Katie replied with a smile. "Trust me you win." she looks over to Vivian. "Don't invite me anywhere else please." and with that Katie turns to Natasha who seemed to be sitting just watching the entire scene. "Let's go please." Natasha simply stood to her feet and the pair walked out the door, ignoring the eyes that were glued to them.

"Well then that settles that." Vivian replies with a smile as she closes her binder and turns to Jamie. "I think we may be able to stop by the florists to check those arrangements." she gathers her things and stands to her feet. "I will see you later Tony." the woman moved to walk past him, but Tony caught her arm.

"Jamie you think you could give us a minute doll?" the young woman stood unsure for a moment, her eyes turning to Vivian who simply nodded that it was ok. Once she was gone, both Vivan and Tony sat back down at the table.

"Before you even start, whether you believe it or not that was necessary. That woman standing up there with you and my daughter would be inappropriate and would take all the attention from where it should be and that's Pepper."

"Do you have many friends Viv?" Tony asked.

"I don't see what that has to do with any—"

"You see I have a lot of friends. I have friends and I don't even know half their names." Tony looked over to the nearby glass of water and shook his head. "I'm usually surrounded by people who pretend to be my friend just to get something from me. Then one day I met her. She got me and she laughed at my mildly offensive jokes and to top it off, after I "blackmailed her"" he said using air quotes and all. "she tried to save my life. There's nothing inappropriate about our relationship. She's my best friend and when I got married I wanted her to be that person behind me making sure I didn't fall over or something." Tony didn't allow her to say another word, because there was nothing from her he wanted to hear. He stood to his feet, buttoned his jacket and slipped on a pair of sun glasses. "But I guess none of that made it to the thought process before this shit was thought up, huh?" and with that he turned and headed for the door, once again smiling and waving to the crowd that had just witnessed one hell of a show.

When he walked outside, he found Natasha standing searching down both sides of the street and Tony just knew his day was about to get a whole lot worse. "Please tell me you didn't lose her in like the two seconds you were alone with her?"

"Shut up Tony." Natasha snapped before spotting the woman further down the street standing in front of a hot dog vendor. "Of course." Tony followed her eyes and just shook his head.

"Go back to the tower, I will get her home." Tony said already walking toward the woman. Before Katie could even reach into her bag for money, Tony was already handing the man some money.

"I can pay for a hot dog."

"Yeah, but I wanted to pay." Tony said smiling at the man. "Keep the change." he turned back to Katie who graciously took her hot dog and continued walking down the street. "So I'm not sure you're aware, but I'm good with pretending the events of this day never happened. Mostly the Vivian Potts part of the day."

"She was right."

"Whoa, those words are never to be spoken." Tony says reaching over to grab her arm to stop her. Katie let out a deep sigh before turning to him. "I asked you to be my best man because you are the person I want standing beside me to keep me from passing out. "

"Rhodey can do the job—"

"I don't want Rhodes!" Tony snapped moving to stand in front of her. "I want you. You are my friend, you are like my best friend. Why would I ask anyone else?"

"Because the world doesn't understand. Because Pepper doesn't understand it. Because you and I to everyone else doesn't make sense."

"Fuck what everyone else thinks!" Tony snapped, gaining a few looks for people who passed by, but he didn't care.

"Including Pepper?" Katie asked and Tony simply turned away. "It's no secret that she doesn't like this friendship and fine I don't care about that because that's her problem. But the day she gets married, the day she decides she's going to be your wife, that's her day. I will not ruin that, I won't distract from that." Katie turned and continued walking away.

"And I don't get a say in this? You're my friend—" Katie stopped and turned back to him. "This is my day too, why do I have to sacrifice—"

"Because you love her. Because her happiness means more to you then your own. That's why you do it. Plus I've changed right, been spending way too much time with my husband. You'll probably be better off without me." For some reason that made him angry. More that she actually believed that, but maybe this would be when it happened. When she finally walked away.

"Maybe I would." he said and she looked surprised for a moment before shaking her head and dropping her hot dog in a nearby trash can.

"All of a sudden, I'm not hungry anymore." she muttered before turning and stalking off away from him. This time he didn't go after her. This time he just let her go because he thought it wouldn’t hurt as much. It did.

Clint's eyes shot up the moment the doors slid open and Maria's face appeared, but it wasn't her he was looking at. It was the familiar couple standing behind her who stepped off, their eyes scanning the room. Soon their eyes settled on him, and an instant distrust seemed to radiate from them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Chambers," Steve said with a slight smile walking over to shake their hands. "It is an honor to meet both of you." Martin shook the man's hand, but Cynthia's eyes stayed on Clint who watched her as well.

"Where is she?" the woman asked.

"She's not here." Clint replied keeping his distance. The last time he and the couple were in the same room, things did not go well and so he decided that distance would be better for everyone. "She's not ready for this."

"Why are we here?" Martin asked looking to Steve. "Agent Hill didn't say much. Only that there's something you all needed Cindy's help with." the man turned to his wife. "I'm not sure with what though."

"Have either of you ever heard the name Wolfgang Von Strucker?" Steve asked and both Martin and Cynthia turned to him with wide eyes. "I'm going to take the looks as a yes."

"I worked with Strucker a long time ago." Cynthia replied. "He was a genius, but he was also bat shit crazy." the woman shook her head. "When I discovered the key to creating the x-gene in humans he seemed obsessed with testing it out when even I wasn't confident in my findings. He was removed from our labs after a failed experiment. I thought they were finally going to lock him up."

"No, just give him his own lab and let him go nuts." Clint replied. "We think he may have figured out the missing ingredient to your little mutant experiment. We ran into two inhumans we believe are the product."

"Do you have names?" Cynthia asked and Steve held out his tablet to her to which she took it and began scrolling immediately. "Oh my god." she looked over to her husband and showed him the screen.

"You got to be kidding me." Martin muttered taking the tablet from his wife's hands.

"You know them?" Steve asked and both Martin and Cynthia looked over to him.

"Yes." the woman replied with a nod as her eyes dropped back to the screen. "And they're mutations weren't created in a lab. They were born with them." she smiled slightly. "Strucker probably enhanced them in some way, but he didn't create them. They were inherited from their father."

"Who's their father?"

"His name is Erik Lehnsherr, but any database SHIELD has on him will refer to him as—"

"Magneto." Clint states a name he would've been happy not to have heard ever again. Cynthia looks over to him and just nods, while Steve seems to be the only one in the room who has absolutely no idea what's going on.

"Ok, so what's a Magneto?" the Captain asks.

* * *


	40. Chapter 40

For some reason beyond Katie's realm of thinking, large trees had become a very good way to calm herself. There was something about them that was just so comforting. So when she arrived at this big tree in the middle of central park, she lowered herself as carefully as she could underneath it. At the moment she needed her comfy tree because all of a sudden her world was once again becoming hectic. And there wasn't a SHIELD or HYDRA to blame it on. It was just her life and the fact nothing was happening the way she wanted it. Once upon, her "shit happens" motto to life would've been fine, but there was this life growing inside of her that could be here at any moment and she wanted so badly for her life to just be perfect when that happens. She knew that was an impossible thought, that perfect lives only existed in movies, but she still wanted something at least close to it.

Katie closed her eyes and began rubbing her belly as she let the cool breeze pass her. For a moment she just needed this solitude.

Clint glanced down to his watch for the third time in an hour. Katie had been officially gone for way longer than it takes to eat breakfast. He expected a meal between her and Vivian Potts would probably be even shorter. He heard the doors to the elevator open and jumped to his feet, only to stop when he sees that's it's only Natasha.

"Where's my wife Nat?" he asked and the woman pulled her bag from her arm before walking over to him.

"She's with Stark. He says he will bring her back." Clint frowned slightly because even though a lot of time has past, Tony Stark is still a person he doesn't like left alone with Katie. "Don't make that face, she's fine even after almost decking Vivian."

"That bad?"

"Not as bad as I guessed it would be. I mean she didn't swear even though I'm sure she wanted to." Natasha replied with a shrug before looking around. "Where is everybody?"

"Steve is down in the lab with Cynthia and Martin." Clint replied once again glancing down to her watch. "Maria's looking for a way into a maximum security prison to talk to a mutant." he looked back up to Natasha who stared at him in confusion. "Our inhumans are the children of Magneto."

"That makes sense. Evil dad, breeds evil children. We thinking he knows where we can find them?"

"Hopefully." Clint replied snaking his phone from his pocket. "That's it, I'm calling her."

"You're being that guy." Natasha sang heading back over to the elevator to join the others in the lab.

"I don't care!" Clint called back as he began dialing her number. He was just about to dial the last button when the elevator slid open and out walked Tony, sans Katie. "Are you kidding me?" Clint walked over to the man. "Tell me Kat stopped down at the lab with the others?"

"No, and what others are in my lab?" Tony asked and Clint growled about to hit the man when Natasha quickly jumped in front of him.

"HYDRA is still out there you idiot!" Clint snapped angrily walking over to the elevator. "If something happens to her, I'm finally going to kill you." the doors opened and Clint hurried on. "JARVIS, locate Katie for me."

"As you wish."

Katie's eyes were closed as she reveled in the feel of the sun on her skin. For these brief few moments, she pretended that her life was nice and quiet.

"Do your parents know where you are little girl?" A familiar voice spoke and Katie opened one eye to see if it was really him.

"Mattie?" Katie said opening both eyes as she looked up to her brother with a slight smile. He looked quite different since she last saw him. His hair was short and neat, and his face was bare. "I'm sorry, agent Black I guess."

"That's not even funny anymore Rinny." Matthew said dropping to the ground beside her. "But seriously—" he let his eyes scan the area. "Are you here by yourself?"

"As a matter of fact I am." Katie says with a shrug, turning away and once again closing her eyes. "How did you find me?"

"You'd be surprised how many eyes are on you Rinny." Matthew replied looking over to his sister. He reached out a hand to rub her belly. "I thought she'd be here by now." Katie peeked open a eye and looked over to him.

"You think it's a girl?"

"Yeah, I mean it's a fifty fifty chance right, and I don't know, but I think it's a girl." he leaned into her belly. "Do your uncle this favor and be a girl please."

"Why do you need the baby to be a girl?" Katie asked and Matthew just sat back and shook his head.

"No reason—" he said, clearing his throat immediately after. "So, if you're here alone, then I'm guessing the entire Avengers tower is about to come looking for you."

"No, because as an adult, I reserve the right to go off by myself." Katie replied folding her arms over her chest. It had become this thing for the past couple of months that whenever she left the tower, someone was always with her, and it was annoying as hell. "I don't need a babysitter."

"Well there is still—"

"HYDRA, I know, but I'm not going to be treated like a child because some evil bastards want my mother."

"That's not what I was going to say." Matthew said looking over to his sister, before his eyes trailed to her large belly. "There's still a baby who’s coming very soon. No one wants that to happen and you're by yourself. You would freak out."

"I wouldn't freak out."

"Yes you would." Matthew replied laughing. "So why did you need to escape your prison slash castle?"

"Yesterday, the team went on a mission. They located Loki's scepter, it was being kept by this HYDRA madman. He had men, and it was an all out battle. The team ran into a couple of mutants, one of whom got Clint hurt—" Katie turned away, the memory of Clint being shot assaulting her once again.

"Is he alright?"

"Yeah, he's fine. They're all fine."

"What about you?"

"I don't know." Katie replied turning to her brother. "You know when I pictured this stage in my life, the married, and baby on the way, there was no team of superheroes, or crazy scientists who create mutants." she shook her head at the thought. "My life is a circus, and behind every curtain is another act waiting to blow me away." she dropped her head on her brother's shoulder. "Currently one of those acts is waiting back at the tower."

"What do you mean?"

"The mutants the team ran into, turns out they were part of some experimentation to alter their mutations. The backbone of those experiments just so happened to be created by Angelika Berkeller." Matthew looked over his sister with wide eyes.

"Your mother?"

"Yep. So now both she and Martin Chambers are back at the tower trying to figure out who these mutants are and how we can stop them."

"And you thought you could hide out here until they left."

"It seemed like a plausible idea." Katie replied letting her eyes once again fall closed.

"Well I think you may have forgotten one thing." Matthew replied.

"And what's that?"

"You married a psycho." Matthew said nudging Katie's side. The woman opened her eyes just in time to see Clint stalking in their direction. "He doesn't look happy."

"No he does not." Katie says lifting her head as Clint walked over.

"Seriously?"

"I'm sorry, but I needed to be alone for like one whole hour."

"That's fine." Clint says kneeling in front of her, holding up his cell phone. "But do you see this, I have one of these, and you have one of these, so when we're not together, we can tell each other where we are. I don't like not knowing where my very pregnant wife is, alright?"

"I'm sorry, I should've called." Katie sighed. "I wasn't thinking. There was this thing with Tony, and I just—"

"What thing?" Clint interrupted.

"Nothing, we've just been clashing lately, and I don't know why. Look, I don't want to talk about it. " she turned to her brother. "Look who found me." Clint looked over to Matthew, finally noticing the man who simply waved.

"Matt."

"Agent Assface" Matthew replies only to get punched in the shoulder by his sister. "I mean Clint." Clint just shakes his head before turning back to Katie.

"So I assume you're hiding from your parents?" Katie simply nods and Clint sighs before moving to sit on the other side of her. He lets his back fall back on the tree, bringing an arm around her, pulling her closer. They all sat there in silence for a few moments, letting to cool breeze blow past them.

"So..." Katie spoke breaking the silence as she looks between Clint and Matthew. "Any one else hungry?"

When Tony returned to his lab, he was happy the only person he found was Bruce. He ignored Bruce's questioning eyes as he walked in, going back to his holocomputer.

"I don't want to talk about it." Tony announced before Bruce could even start his line of questioning.

"So did you hear about our guests?" Bruce asked and Tony looked over to him with a quirked brow. "I thought you might want to introduce yourself."

Martin Chambers sat in a chair in the far corner of the office as he watched his wife looking over the files. She'd gotten out one sentence that held way too many words he didn't understand, before he told her he was just going to step back and watch. He soon found himself scanning the pretty big office after finding out it belonged to his daughter. Soon his eyes fell on a picture that hung on the wall and he stood to his feet and walked over. It was a picture of her in a white dress, standing beside the agent he wasn't too fond of. It was their wedding. Martin always imagined walking his daughter down the aisle and giving her away, and now he would not be able to do that. He couldn't blame anyone but himself for that.

"Don't worry, a lot of people weren't invited to that shindig." A voice spoke and both Martin and Cynthia looked over to the door to see a familiar face. Tony narrowed his eyes as he looked between the man and woman.

"Look at you." Cynthia said with a bright smile as she walked over to the man. "You look just like him, it's ridiculous." she shook her head. "I'm sorry—" she held out her hand. "I'm—"

"I know who you are." Tony interrupted turning to Martin who seemed to look at him with a distrusting eye. "I know who both of you are. You're the parents who screwed my friend up in the head."

"I see he inherited his father's tact as well." Martin says crossing his arms over his chest. "How about you share your opinions on topics you know fully."

"You see all of this?" Tony asked waving a finger around. "I own all of it and in that case my opinions get thrown out whenever I get the sudden urge." Tony looked over to Cynthia who just shook her head. "Now where is the captain and why isn't he playing babysitter?" And as if on cue, Steve walked into the lab, Maria right behind him.

"Stark, I see you've met Katie's parents."

"I have and they're not as impressive as I imagined." Tony says glancing between the pair once again. "Actually they're boring me, so I'm heading back to my lab where no one disturbs me unless the world is ending, and even then exhaust all options before knocking on my door." and with that the man turned and headed out of the lab.

"Please excuse him, he's special." Steve says with a shake of his head before turning to Maria. "Ms. Hill here has had some headway with this whole Magneto deal." he looks back over to Martin and Cynthia. "She's going to go see him tomorrow morning."

"He won't talk to you." Cynthia stated. "He doesn't trust non-mutants, and the last thing he will do is talk to you."

"How do you know this?" Steve asks.

"Because once upon a time Magneto was just Erik, and he was my friend."

"What happened?"

"I was rescued and he wasn't." Cynthia mused turning away slightly before turning back to Maria. "I think I should come with you."

"I don't know, I had to pull a lot of strings just to get me into this super max." Maria said with a slight shake of her head. "Getting someone in, who doesn't have badge and is supposed to be dead might be tough."

"Does tough mean impossible?" Cynthia asked.

"Hold on a second here, Cindy. This guy is obviously dangerous, and probably not the same person you remember him to be. Just let these people work this."

"Martin, I know a lot of time has passed, but people don't change that much. I'm sure there's some of the Erik I knew somewhere inside of him."

"And I'm sure you're just being naive." Martin muttered only to get a slap to the arm from his wife. "So what are we thinking?" Steve and Maria shared a look, and it was Steve who slightly shrugged.

"Crap." Maria moaned taking out her cell phone. "I have to make another phone call." the woman shook her head before turning and once again walking out of the lab.

When Katie, Clint and Matthew arrived at the tower, they all stepped onto the elevator, but no one pressed a button.

"Do you require assistance with your destination decision?" JARVIS asked and Katie lifted her head with a slight smile and just shook her head.

"No, thank you JARVIS." she glanced over to Clint and then to her brother. "No more running." they simply gave her a nod before they all looked over to the doors. "Take me to wherever in this tower I would find Martin and Cynthia Chambers JARVIS."

"Right away." the program replied and suddenly the elevator was moving. Apparently they were in her office, which only consisted of a few computers and a couch. She usually spent most of her time in the big lab with Tony and Bruce, but had the office created for when she needed some silent time to think. When she walked in, her eyes first went to Steve who turned to her the moment he heard them. His face seemed to drop to a look of concern as he watched her look over to the man and woman who stood looking at something on one of her computers.

"All I'm saying is I don't like it. It seems dangerous."

"It's a glass room Martin, no metal. Plus he won't hurt me, I know he won't."

"You say that now, but then—" Martin looked over his shoulder and there she was. The sight actually took his breath away, his daughter that seemed to look more like her mother as she grew up.

"What's wrong?" Cynthia asked looking over to him, before turning her head as well to see what had caught his attention. The moment she saw her, the woman brought her hand to her mouth as she stared at her very pregnant daughter. The woman suddenly dropped her hand and took a step forward. "Hi baby." Katie didn't say anything or even show the slightest flinch at the woman's words. She simply turned back to Steve who looked slightly nervous as he looked from her to Clint hoping now wasn't when the man would go through with that threat.

"Does she know something?" Katie asked and Steve opened his mouth, and yet he didn't even get a chance to speak.

"She is right here!" Cynthia replied a little more aggressive then she would've liked, but she knew they were going to have to try a new tactic in gaining their daughter's trust. "So you should probably just ask me." Katie turned to the woman slowly, still not baring any emotion just yet.

"Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, do you recognize the names?"

"Yes, they were in a couple of files I was able to snag from SHIELD."

"That's not all she found out." Steve added and Katie turned to him. "Apparently these mutants are really mutants. We think Strucker may have just juiced their abilities with your mother's formula."

"So any leads on how to find them?"

"Just one. We're going to talk to their father." Steve says glancing over to Martin and Cynthia. "Another mutant by the name of Magneto." Katie's eyes widened before following the man's eyes.

"You should go. He'll talk to you." Katie said looking to her mother.

"Exactly my thoughts." Cynthia replied with a slight smile as she nudged her husband's arm. "Looks like our daughter got my brains." Katie just shook her head before turning and leaving the room.

"Yeah, and your stubbornness too." he added watching the door close behind their daughter and Clint. Matthew stayed and stared for a few moments before looking over to Steve.

"When did you get here?" Steve asked.

"Flew in this morning. I didn't want to miss d-day." Matthew replied turning back to Katie's parents before walking over to them. He held out a hand to Martin. "Hi, I'm Matthew Banks, I'm—"

"Her brother. We know." Martin says shaking the man's hand.

"Good, then I want to say thank you." both looked at the young man in confusion. "Because if you guys weren't so stupid as to give up your daughter to crazy people, I wouldn't have a sister. So thanks." and with that he gives Cynthia a nod before turning and heading for the door.

"You heard about the party didn't you?!" Steve called after him, but only got a loud laugh in reply.

Morning had come sooner than Martin would've liked. His eyes were on the the ticking clock that hung on the wall across from him before looking over to his wife who seemed to be staring off into space.

"You sure you want to do this?" Martin asked and Cynthia turned to him and just nodded. They both turned when they saw Maria walking back over to them.

"Alright, they're ready for us." Maria said and Cynthia stood to her feet. "We have ten minutes." she glanced over to Martin. "You wait here until we get back and try not to look at any cameras or at anyone in the eye, alright?" Martin simply nodded before turning to his wife, and placing a kiss to her cheek.

"Just be careful alright. The man in this prison isn't the man you remember. Don't forget that." Cynthia didn't say anything because she wasn't ready to accept that just yet.

"You ready?" Maria asked.

"Yeah, let's go." the woman replied glancing over to her husband before following behind the woman. The security protocols to get inside were a little overboard, but she guessed it was necessary with someone who could used something as small as a paper clip to kill you. When they finally got through the extraneous process, they appeared in some sort of plastic tunnel that lead to a light at the end of it.

"You weren't kidding when you said super super maximum prison, huh?" Cynthia said as she and Maria both walked cautiously.

"No, I definitely was not." Maria replied. The women walked until they finally reached the small room where everything was made of glass and plastic. They both looked to the gray haired man whose back was to them, as he moved a chess piece on the table in front of him.

"You must be lost." the man spoke, not even turning to them. "I don't usually get many visitors, at least not from your species."

"What about family?" Cynthia asked and the man froze in place. He lifted his head slowly before turning to meet the familiar eyes of the woman he thought he would never see again. She placed her hand on the glass of his cell and smiled. "Hallo Bruder," Maria turned to the woman's whose German accent seemed to come out of nowhere. Her eyes went back to Erik who stood to his feet and moved toward them, a move that made her uneasy even with the glass separating them.

"Angelicka, ist es Ihnen?" the man asked and Maria shot up a hand.

"Sorry, this visit is being monitored, so English only." she said before turning to Cynthia. "And that clock is ticking." Maria just nodded before turning back to Erik, her eyes glancing around the small room before turning back to him.

"How did you get here?" Cynthia asked ignoring the sigh from the woman standing beside her. "How could you let them get you here?"

"I was alone, and I was angry." Erik shook his head before turning back to the woman. "They took everything from me, my mother, you—"

"They didn't take me, I left and you know this. You could've come with me, but you chose to find your own way and that way led you here." she glanced around with a shake of her head. "You hurt people—" she met his eyes once again. "You tried to use my formula when you knew how dangerous it was."

"You don't understand the plight I live with. You have it easy, they all have it easy and it was time that the tides shifted with this war."

"War?" Cynthia asked with a quirked brow.

"You don't see it, but it's happening. They want to rid the world of the mutants, the imperfections of the world. It is a war, and I intend to win."

"Where do I fit in your war?" Cynthia asked. "If it's you against them and I'm not one of you. Does that make me your enemy?" Erik didn't reply because he knew those words could never pass his lips. Everyone who knew him, knew his hatred of non-mutants, but none of them knew the fondness he held for just one.

"Why are you here?" Erik chose to ask, hoping that finding the point of this visit would get rid of her sooner, and that look in her eyes when she looked at him.

"Wanda and Pietro Maximoff," Cynthia said. "Do you know them?" the man simply sighed before turning his back and walking over to sit at the table that held his chess table.

"Is that a yes?!" Maria asked impatiently.

"That is a yes Ms. Hill." Cynthia answered instead, still staring at the man's back. "Do they know you're their father?"

"Why would they?" the man asked moving another chess piece. "My life has no room for distractions, and children are very big distractions."

"Well those distractions are causing big problems." Maria added. "Do you know where we can find them?" Erik didn't say anything and Maria growled under her breath before turning to Cynthia.

"Für mich bitte." Cynthia pleaded and a loud sigh escaped the man's lips as he lifted his head, but he doesn't turn to her.

"My last inquiry about them placed them in Russia." he replied. "Sokovia."

"That much we know." Maria said with a shake of her head. "They were busy being lab rats for Wolfgang Von Strucker." Erik finally turned to her with wide eyes before turning to Cynthia.

"I think he figured it out. My formula and he used it on them." Cynthia replied. "And now they're—"

"Now they're powerful." a smile came to Erik's lips, one that brought a frown to Cynthia's lips. "Maybe now they will do what I couldn't. Finally show them we won't be silenced."

"Erik you can't possibly—"

"It has been years since we have laid eyes on each other. You can't honestly stand there and tell me what I couldn't possibly believe." the man stood to his feet once again and turned to her. "The world is a much different place now, and I am a different man." Erik turned to Maria with a slight smile. "Good luck wrangling in my children."

"We will find them and we will stop them and then maybe we'll get them cell right in here with you." Maria spat before turning to Cynthia and nudging her head toward the door. Cynthia still looked at the man in disbelief. She didn't want to believe that the Erik she’d known, cared about was gone, but it would seem he really was.

"Goodbye Erik." Cynthia replied before turning and following behind Maria toward the door.

"Tell your daughter I said hello!" Erik called and Cynthia stopped moving, much to Maria's displeasure. "I met her you know, and she's just as naive as you. It is dangerous to be naive in the world we live in Angelicka." Cynthia began to turn around, but Maria caught her arm and began pulling her to the door.

The entire day, Katie's emotions were all over the place. She usually was oblivious to her mood swings, but today she seemed all too aware of them. Poor Clint had gotten pretty much the grunt of his hormonal wife, but he took it in stride, and didn't run in fear. By the time the sun came down, Katie found herself lying on her couch with a tub of ice cream in her hand.

"You're not getting ready." Clint said and Katie turned her head to see the man fully dressed.

"Ready for what?"

"The party, remember?" Clint walked around the couch, noticing the half eaten ice cream, and the movie "Titanic" once again being played for what felt like the millionth time. "The party tonight, to celebrate our win in Sokovia."

"Right, I forgot about that stupid party." Katie muttered looking down to herself on only a tank top and pajama bottoms. She was very comfortable in this moment and saw no reason to mess with it. "I don't think I want to go." she turned back to her husband, who looked disappointed.

"Ok," he said already unbuttoning his shirt. "I guess we can stay in and watch—" he looked over to the television and inwardly cringed at the thought. "Titanic, again." Katie laughed and he looked back over to her.

"You can go. I think you've had enough crazy pregnant lady time today." Katie replied and Clint looked at her for a moment, trying to decipher if this was some sort of test.

"Uh, no, I think I would rather spend my night with my beautiful wife." he said and Katie kept laughing. "You're serious?"

"Yeah, go. I'm here, and not going anywhere." Katie said looking down to her ice cream. "There's more ice cream right?"

"Yeah, you're fully stocked. "

"Well then I'm all set." Katie said with a smile as she looked back over to Clint. He still looked a bit hesitant. "Seriously go to the party, have fun. Apparently we don't get many days like that after baby bird gets here." Clint walked over to her, leaning down for a soft kiss.

"You need me, you call or have JARVIS call." Clint spoke, his face just inches away from hers. His hand slid to her stomach. "You feel anything weird, call Franklin, and head off to the MedU."

"Yes sir." Katie replied with smile as Clint's lips once again met hers. Once he pulled away, he placed another kiss on top of her head before heading out the door.

Katie finished her movie and her ice cream faster than she would've like. Her eyes went to the clock that hung high on the wall. Clint had only been gone for about forty five minutes, and she was already missing his company.

"This is ridiculous." Katie muttered to herself as she stood to her feet and walked into the kitchen, going straight for the freezer. When she opened it, her eyes widened at the sight. "Your daddy lied to me, we are not fully stocked on ice cream." she glanced down to her bulging stomach, and thought that maybe this was a sign that she should stop eating. The baby seemed to give a firm kick, as if to tell her that was a crazy thought. "I agree." Katie says running a hand over her stomach. She lifted her head slightly, because there was no Tony Stark party without food. And even though being around a lot of people was not something she wanted to do right now, she does at least want to see what food is still left. "Crap, now I have to change."

Katie wasn't about to get too fancy, and just decided on a pair of blue jeans and a striped blue and white top, that clung to her belly. It had been a while since she could put on an over sized shirt or dress and hide the growing child inside of her. Now nothing could hide it. It was there for the world to see, which made her nervous. Soon she was riding the elevator up to Tony's penthouse, and she could practically hear the music the closer she got. Once the doors opened, Katie was able to see the room filled with lots of faces she didn't recognize.

"Make sure to keep an elevator waiting just for me, alright JARVIS." Katie said about to step off the elevator, but stopped when she didn't get an answer. She glanced up slightly with a furrowed brow. "JARVIS?"

"Hey!" a voice said, before Katie's arm was grabbed and she was pulled into the party. Katie looked over to see her brother's smiling face, a drink in his hand. "Agent Bird Brain said you were skipping tonight's festivities."

"I was, but I ran out of food." Katie replied glancing around and spotting the food and drink table. "Speaking of which—" she was already turning and heading over, only to be blocked.

"So I hear you turned down Tony's offer to be his best man." James Rhodes said with a bit of a cocky smile. "Too much for you? I can't blame you, I mean, best man is a tough job, not a lot of people—"

"Are you gloating right now Rhodes?" Katie asked folding her arms over her chest. "Is that what this is, because I have to tell you I expected a little more maturity from you."

"Why?" Rhodes asks, smile firmly in place as he brings his beer to his lips. "I mean, I have known him longer, gotten him out of shit loads of trouble, saved him from being tossed into a deep dark prison countless times. Me as the best man at his wedding makes sense."

"It does." Katie replies attempting to walk around him, only for him to move with her.

"What happened?" Rhodes asks seriously and Katie sighs turning away. "I show up today, and he says guess what, you're my best man now and that's it." Katie turned back to him. "Not that I'm not happy, but I am a little curious. I thought you two were thick as thieves."

"So did I, but I guess some things change." Katie replies finally successfully slipping around him to continue her course to the food table. She was almost there, when her eyes caught her husband talking with some blonde woman who was laughing way too hard at something Clint had said. Now Katie loves her husband, but he's not that funny, and so Katie decides to hold off on the food, and saunters over to find out what's so funny.

"I still can't believe all of this, I mean aliens and mutants, and evil government agencies. Sounds like something out of movie." the woman said still laughing. "But I sleep better at night knowing you and your friends are protecting me."

"Well we protect everyone." Clint says with a small smile. He moves to walk away, but the woman grabs his arm once again, thwarting his escape plan.

"Oh, I know that silly. I just mean that you guys are really brave, and it's good to know that we're not on our own with the things that come at us. We have the Avengers." The woman once again laughed with a shake of her head. "This may be weird of me to say, but I've become very fascinated with archery, maybe if you're not busy you could—"

"There you are!" Katie says finally deciding to come to Clint's rescue. "I've been looking all over for you." Clint looks down to Katie with a smile, and she can see the relief in his eyes as well. Katie smiles back before turning to the woman. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. Hello."

"Aren't you that woman who faked her death?" the woman chose as a greeting and Katie simply nodded.

"Yep, that's me." Katie says, as Clint's arm wraps around her waist and pulling her to his side. "I'm also Clint's wife, and as you can see—" Katie gestures to her stomach with her hand. "We're going to be extremely busy, so he won't have time for any archery lessons. I'm sorry." Katie turns to Clint and nudges her head. "Wasn't there something you wanted to show me?"

"Yeah, right." Clint replies turning back to the woman. "It was nice talking to you." he takes Katie's hand and pulls her with him, sifting through the crowd. They ended up going out onto the balcony, into the cool New York air. "Thank you for that. That woman was insane."

"What are wives for, if not to save you from your crazy fans." Katie replied as Clint's arms snake around her, pulling her against him. "You lied to me."

"Whatever do you mean dear?" Clint asked before dipping his head to place a kiss to her jaw.

"Fully stocked?" Katie muttered closing her eyes, finding all rational thought fleeting her as his lips continue to the nape of her neck. "You tricked me."

"How else was I going to get you down here?" Clint asked before finally capturing her lips with his in a slow searing kiss that seem to pull them both from the moment. When the need for air was too great, they finally pulled apart.

"We could've made out at home." Katie muttered still buzzing from that kiss as she met Clint's eyes. "Actually we could've done a little bit more if you played your cards right."

"And what are the right cards, dear?" Clint asked.

"Feeding me." Katie said with a laugh before pulling from his grasp and heading back inside. Clint just shook his head before following her inside.

They found themselves on the couch, Clint just sitting beside his wife with a beer in his hand watching her eat which was always a sight that made him smile. Katie had always been a eater. She loved food, even before the pregnancy.

"And I was like,"Boom! You looking for this?" they both turned their head to see Rhodes, who was still telling the story of the most interesting thing that has ever happened to him and that was saving the president. His current audience was was Thor and Tony who both stared blankly at him. The smile dropped from Rhodes’ face and he just shook his head. "Why do I even talk to you guys, that story kills everywhere else." Katie snickered as she looked down to her empty plate.

"More?" Clint asked sitting his bottle down and Katie just shook her head. "Aw, the beast is full." Katie turned to him with wide eyes. "I said that out loud didn't I?"

"Yeah you did, jerk." Katie says slapping his arm. "And I am not a beast by choice. It's your offspring." Clint's hand suddenly went to her stomach, smiling at the soft kicks underneath is hand. "You know sometimes I still can't believe this is happening." Clint lifted his eyes to meet hers. "A baby. Our baby will be here soon." she placed her hands on top of his. "I'm just glad I'm doing this with you." Clint smiled about to lean in for a kiss.

"Ew, stop." a voice said suddenly and they turned to see Matthew stand beside them. He looked over to Clint. "So I know we don't like each other, but I need you to settle an argument." Matthew turned and pointed to Natasha who stood behind the bar. "Me and spider ninja have been trading stories and she has just claimed that the Serbia collapse was you two. I think she's full of shit." A smile tugged at Clint's lips as he looked over to Natasha before looking back to Matthew.

"Sorry Matt, that happened." Clint replied. "Did she tell you how we got into the consulate." Matthew just shook his head and Clint burst into laughter. "Of course she didn't." he turned back to Katie who just shook her head.

"Go mingle." Katie says and Clint plants a kiss to her cheek before he and Matthew walk over to Natasha. The couch shifted next to Katie, and she turned to see Steve now sitting beside her. "Having fun Captain Rogers?"

"As much fun as one can have being the oldest one in the room." Steve says letting his eyes scan the room. "I thought you were skipping out on the festivities for a night of ice cream and Titanic?" Katie turned to him with a smile.

"Admit it, that's a great movie."

"It's not the worse I've seen, and it's even more interesting watching it with you." Steve replied with a shake of his head. "Actually all movies with you are very interesting. You're very entertaining, you know that?"

"I do know that." Katie sighs glancing around at the unfamiliar faces around them. "So how did it go with Magneto?"

"It didn't. Bad guys will always be bad guys even in glass prisons." Steve replied turning to Katie. "Cynthia didn't take it well. She wanted to believe there was still hope that apart of him was the guy she remembered."

"You can't expect people you haven't seen in years to welcome you with open arms."

"They're still here you know. Will be for a couple of more days, in case we need your mother again. You should talk with them."

"Why?"

"Because they're your parents. Because despite everything that's happened, they're still just your mom and dad."

"My mother faked her death, and then my father did the same and I killed man I thought killed him." Katie spoke meeting Steve's eyes. "Those people, my mom and dad, they're the reason my life has been a circus. They're the reason—"

"You're right here, right now. Why you're married to the man you love and about to have a baby. If it wasn't for them and the decisions they made, you and me may have never met. So did they make the right decisions, maybe not, but in the end you're here. So you can hate them forever, or you can finally let the past go." Katie didn't say anything for a few moments because, well a part of her knew Steve was right. She just wasn't ready to forgive them for all the pain they caused.

"Easier said than done, Captain." Katie says giving his arm a nudge. "But I will think about it. Help me up?" Steve got to his feet and held out a hand to help Katie up as well. "I'm still hoping Tony sprung for ice cream before he decided that he hated me." Katie turned and walked off.

"Wait, what?" Steve asked, but Katie was already lost in the crowd.

Katie found herself at one of the bars, waiting for the bartender to finish up with another guest before she would ask him about the ice cream.

"So you're married to The Hawkeye?" a voice said startling Katie. She turned to see the blonde woman from before who'd she'd spotted talking to Clint. "I didn't even know he was married." her eyes went to Katie's stomach. "And with a baby on the way. That's so—" she met Katie's eyes once again with an obviously fake smile. "Adorable."

"Uh, thanks I guess." Katie replied turning to see the bartender now tending to another guest.

"You know he saved my life." the woman said and Katie turned back to her. "During that whole battle of New York with the aliens. One of them was right there in front of me. I was this close to being dead, and then an arrow just went straight through their chest." a smile pricked the woman's lips as the memory seemed to come back to her. "I'm lucky to be alive and it's because of him. I just think it means something." Katie stared at the woman with a furrowed brow, slightly backing away, only to be stopped by someone behind her. "I mean I read this article about the Avengers and it's crazy, we like the same things. He likes archery, I like archery. His eyes are green, my eyes are greenish." the woman tilted her head slighted as she looked to Katie. "So how long have you two been married, if you don't mind me asking."

"She does," a familiar voice says from behind Katie. She looks over her shoulder to see Tony, whose eyes are on the crazy woman, as two men appear behind her. "So do I. What's your name?"

"Uh, Stephanie." the woman replies glancing between the large men behind her. "What's going on?"

"These two fine gentlemen are just going to escort you off the premises, ok. Nice to meet you Stephanie." the guards grabbed the woman's arms and lead her away. "It never fails. The crazies always find a way in." Katie turned to Tony who looked down to her with a quirked brow. "You're welcome by the way." Katie opened her mouth to reply, when a sudden sharp pain moved across her stomach. She seemed to tip off balance, a pain moan escaping her lips. Tony quickly brought his hands to her shoulders. "Hey, what's happening?" he lifted his eyes through the crowd, hoping to spot Franklin again. He looked back down to Katie who was shaking her head.

"I'm fine Tony." she replied pulling a smile to her lips as she met his eyes. "I think I just ate to many of those bacon wrapped shrimp things. I'm fine."

"Are you sure, because that look awfully like the beginnings of d-day." Tony replied and Katie just shook her head before looking over to the bartender who was headed their way. "Franklin's here—" he glanced around the crowd, still not seeing the doctor. "somewhere I think."

"Tony, seriously I'm good." Katie says just as the bartender arrived. "Hey, strange question. Is there ice cream?"

And so the night went. Another Tony Stark party gone off without a hitch. Well at least not many hitches, but it was still pretty fun. Soon most of the guests were gone, leaving only the team, Rhodes, Dr. Cho, and, Matthew all sitting about the living room, currently in a fit of laughter.

"Look, I'm all science through and through, but I've been there so I'm inclined to believe that hey, it's a hammer that only one man can use." Katie says looking over to Thor and then to his hammer that rested on the table.

"Oh, come on, it's a trick!" Clint says from his spot beside his wife. He was a bit intoxicated, which was always a very funny sight to Katie. " Ah, “ _whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power!"_ Whatever man! It's a trick."

"Well please—" Thor says gesturing to his Mjölnir. "Be my guest." A challenge and everyone knew it. Katie turned to her husband and just shook her head.

"Really?" Clint asks looking over to Thor who simply nods.

"Don't embarrass yourself dear husband." Katie says and Clint turns to her and smiles.

"Hey, you're supposed to be on my side." Clint says running a hand across her stomach before jumping to his feet. "I can do this." Clint walks over, sizing up the hammer first.

"Clint, you've had a tough week, we won't hold it against you if you can't get it up." Tony comments gaining laughs from the others, but a glare from the archer.

"Don't listen to them. You can do it husband." Katie says trying to give Clint a little encouragement even though she knows there's no way he's lifting that hammer.

"You know I've seen you do this before." Clint says looking over to Thor before grabbing the handle of the hammer and pulling, but not even moving it a hair. He just bursts into laughter. "And I still don't know how you do it."

"Wow, kid's not even born yet and he's ashamed of you. Your unborn child is ashamed of you right now." Tony says and Clint shakes his head.

"Please, Stark, by all means." Clint says and Tony stands to his feet.

"Wow, why do I get the feeling this night is going to end with a lot of people emasculated?" Katie asks as Clint returns to his seat beside her. His arm slides around her, pulling her close to him. She sends him a silent smile before turning back to Tony who moves in front of the hammer.

"So if I lift it, I then rule Asgard, right?"

"Yes, of course." Thor says clearly amused as he watches the man.

"Oh, that would be a very sad day for Asgardians." Katie said with a shake of her head. "Everyone would be forced to listen to AC/DC and hate all things Steve Jobs." Tony turned his eyes to her with a slight smile.

"Are you done?"

"I am Mr. Stark." Katie replied before looking to the hammer.

"Alright, just so you are aware, I will be reinstating Prima Nocta." Tony says stretching a bit as he stares down to the hammer. He grasps the handle and pulls as hard as he can, but it doesn't budge. He hikes his foot onto the coffee table for support, but still nothing. Soon he drops his foot back to the floor and looks to the others. "I'll be right back." and without another word, the man walks off.

"Anyone else worried?" Bruce asked.

"Don't be, he's probably just going to get the suit." Katie says before turning to Clint. "Help me up, I have to pee."

"Is it normal for you to pee so much. You've had to go like five times since the party ended." Maria says and Katie laughs as Clint helps her to her feet.

"It's very normal." Clint answers. "The hormonal changes happening in her body are causing the blood to flow quicker through her kidneys, filling her bladder more often then usual." The room fell into silence as everyone's eyes went to the man, before they all turned to Bruce.

"That's actually right." Bruce answered both amused and impressed.

"Someone got him a book and now he's baby google." Katie says heading to the bathroom. She passes Tony on the way, noticing the arm of one of his suits on his hand.

"Wait, where are you going? Asgard is about to get a new ruler. I'm going to change my name to Todin Stark-son?" he tilted his head slightly wondering if that sounded right before shaking his head. "Look names will come later."

"And so will I, I have to pee." Katie quickly turns and rushes off to bathroom. Once inside, she closes the door behind her and falls back against it. The truth is she doesn't have to pee. Ever since that sharp pain from earlier, she's just felt weird, but it's on and off. She doesn't say anything to the others because she doesn't want them to worry if it's nothing. "What's going on baby?" she mutters rubbing a hand over her belly. Suddenly the feeling passes and she once again feels fine. "What the hell kind of shrimp was that?" Katie shakes her head walking over to the sink to splash some water over her face, before finally emerging from the bathroom to join the others. When she walked, out Steve was now up trying to pick up the hammer.

"So I guess Tony's not the new king of Asgard." Katie says walking over to see Steve failing to move the hammer as well.

"Yep, neither is Bruce, or Rhodes—" Clint says before looking over to Matthew who held an ice pack to his head. "Neither is your brother who fell on his ass, which you missed by the way. Funniest part of this night."

"Oh, bite me." Matthew spat, pressing the ice pack to his head.

"I don't get it." Steve muttered with a shake of his head before going over to take his seat after failing to lift the hammer. All eyes went to Katie who just shook her head.

"Oh, no." she placed a hand on her stomach. "This is all the weight I'm lifting today."

"Maybe the handle's imprinted, right? Like a security code." Tony says over to Thor. "Whosoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints" is, I think, the literal translation?" Thor chuckled as he stood to his feet.

"Yes, well that's uh, that's a very very interesting theory. I have a simpler one." Thor picks up the hammer with ease and even flips it in his hand. "You are all not worthy." everyone just booed the Asgardian, before wincing at the high pitched sound that cut through the room, followed by what sounded like metal scraping together.

"Worthy?" An unfamiliar voice spoke and they all turned their heads to see one of the destroyed iron legion bots, limping across the floor. "No, how could you be worthy. You're all killers." That sent a shiver down Katie's spine as she backs up slowly. Clint stands to his feet, slowly moving around the couch to place himself in front of Katie who places her hands on his arm as she peeks around to watch the robot suit.

"Stark," Steve says, his voice tight as his eyes remain on the moving metal.

"JARVIS?" Tony says, lifting his head slightly only to get no reply. That's when Katie suddenly remembers the same thing happening when she didn't get a reply from the program before.

"JARVIS? Can you hear me?" Katie asks, but still no reply. Her eyes go to Tony who seems to be looking back to her, before they both turn back to the robot that seems to move wobbly, as if walking is something totally new.

"I'm sorry, I was asleep—" It's turns slightly and they all watch as it moves very oddly. "-or...I was a dream." it turns back to face them, noting how all their eyes are watching every move it makes.

"Reboot. Legionnaire 06's got a buggy suit." Tony says tapping his phone, but nothing happens. Katie moves to go over to him to see if she can figure it out, but Clint's hand grabs her wrists and pulls her back to stand behind him.

"There was this...terrible noise...and I was tangled in... in...strings. Had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy."

"You killed someone?" Steve asks it, still staring...waiting. They know it's in the air. They could practically feel it. Something was going to happen, it was just a matter of time.

"Wouldn't've been my first call. But, down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices."

"Real world?" Katie asks, and the suit turns to her, tilting it's head slightly as he stares. She feels Clint tense up as he reaches behind him and places a hand on the gun he has tucked in his pants. "Who sent you?"

"I see a suit of armor around the world." that was Tony's voice. A recording of something she remembers him saying earlier, down in the lab.

"Ultron." Bruce mutters looking over to Tony, and then to Katie.

Sometimes, in those rare moments before chaos erupts you just feel it. Katie could hear her heartbeat in her ears as all other sound around her just stopped. Everyone began standing to their feet, and she spotted Maria pulling out the gun she had strapped to her thigh. Clint turned his head slightly, and whispered something to her, but she didn't hear it. When she didn't reply he turned to her, just as more suits bursts through the walls of the room. Without thinking, Clint threw his body over Katie, pulling her to the floor. Katie was frozen in fear in that moment, something that has never happened to her before. This was a fight, a battle, and in moments like this she acted. Now, she couldn't move. There was gunfire all around her, and yet she kept her eyes closed, apart of her wishing for it to just magically stop. Suddenly Clint grabs her arm and pulls her with him behind the bar. He places his hands on the sides of her face.

"Kat, look at me." he pleads, but Katie keeps her eyes closed. She shaking, he can feel her shaking under his touch, and he lifts his head slightly. He needs to get her out of here, that's his only mission right now. Shots are fired above them, and both wince at the falling glass. "C'mon we have to move." Clint once again grabs her arm and pulls her to run toward the stares. Only to come face to face with one of the suits. He doesn't hesitate in raising his gun and firing off shots. Katie stands there behind him, her eyes open as she stares at the source of this trouble.

"Ultron." she whispers and it stares right at her.

"He called your name before I killed him." the robot says with a slight shake of his head. Soon the team takes down the last of the suits, and all that's standing is Ultron. "That was dramatic." the robot continues another long monologue about humans and the universe. No one's listening, just waiting for his next move. When the waiting is just too much, Thor tosses his hammer into the suit, smashing it to pieces.

The room falls into silence as all eyes turn to Tony who seems to be at the center of this mystery. He simply looks at the pieces of the robot trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

"What the hell was that Stark?" Steve asks angrily as he moves toward him. Tony just holds up a hand to him, needing a moment.

"I need to get to the lab, I need to see—" his eyes lift to the one person no one else seems to be looking at. "Katie?" suddenly their eyes turn to her, to see her hands practically gripping her stomach.

"Kat!" Clint says placing his hands on her waist as a pained moan escapes her lips. When she lifts her eyes to his, they're filled with tears.

"Something's—" she grits her teeth through the current wave of pain. Bruce rushes over to her side, and she turns to him. "Something wrong!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> German translations
> 
> 1\. Hallo Buder- "Hello Brother"
> 
> 2\. Angelicka, ist es Ihnen?- "Angelicka is that you?"
> 
> 3\. Für mich bitte- "For me please“


	41. Chapter 41

After something bad happens, this movie plays in your head. Sort of like the events that lead to that bad thing play on this loop over and over and over. As Clint paced back and forth through the waiting room of the MedU, he kept seeing it. He came to Katie, asked her if she was coming to the party, and then the scene changed, and she surprised him and showed up. They were laughing and she was eating and then one of Tony's suits shows up and then everything just goes to hell.

_The moment the words, "Something's wrong!" came out of her mouth, Clint was pushed into action. He hiked her up in his arms and carried her to the elevator, Bruce right behind them. Bruce called Franklin during the ride who was luckily in the MedU already. The moment the elevator doors opened, Franklin was already waiting with a wheelchair. Clint hesitated for a moment, but eventually sat her down before Franklin rushed her off. He followed behind until Bruce caught his shoulder to stop him._

_"What the hell are you doing Bruce?!" Clint snapped pulling out of the doctor's grasp. "I need to stay with her. She needs to know I'm here."_

_"She does know you're here, but right now you need to calm down and let Franklin work, alright?" Clint let out a long sigh as he let his fingers comb through his hair. "Look, I know-"_

_"You don't know anything." Clint grit through his teeth angrily. "This is my-" the sudden emotions that he'd been trying restrain were threatening to spill out of him this very moment. "This is my family Bruce. They are everything." the man shook his head, before glancing over to the door. "I can't lose them."_

And that's when he began pacing. He kept replaying the events that lead to this moment over and over again trying to see at what point he could've prevented this. Clint kept beating himself up, because she didn't even want to come to the party. She wanted to stay home and eat her ice cream, and he tricked into coming.

"Clint maybe you should sit down." Bruce spoke standing to his feet. He'd spent the past hour watching the man pace back and forth, a scene reminiscent of when Thor took Katie to Asgard after the accident. Clint kept pacing, probably not even hearing the man's words. The fucked up movie was still playing in his head, always ending on the part where she looks to him with tears in her eyes as pain courses through her. "Clint—" Bruce touched the man's shoulder, but he only pushed him away. "You need to calm down."

"Why should I calm down?"Clint asked not missing a step in his pace. It was the moving that was keeping him as calm as he was now. He thinks if he stops and really goes over every detail that lead to the moment of him rushing his wife to MedU he would either kill himself, or someone else.

"Because she needs for you to keep it together." Bruce replied, only for Clint to glance over to him without stopping his pace. "Look, I know you're scared-"

"I'm terrified doc!" Clint snapped with a shake of his head. The elevator doors opened and Bruce turned his head to see Natasha walking off. He glanced back to Clint, who seemed content to just continue pacing. Natasha nudged her head for Bruce to come over, and so the doctor did.

"Any word on Katie?" Natasha asked and Bruce shook his head.

"Franklin is still with her. I would've gone back there, but I didn't want to leave him alone." Bruce replied glancing back over to Clint. "He's-"

"Angry." Natasha says looking over to her partner with a furrowed brow. "This is him very angry." Bruce turned to her with confusion and she met his eyes. "You should go downstairs to the lab. Apparently you were apart of this and Steve wants to know what happened?"

"So do I." Bruce sighed removing his glasses and rubbing his tired eyes. Against her nature, Natasha reached out a hand and placed it on his arm, and the man's eyes once again looked over to her.

"Another fight doctor. I'm sure we can beat this one too." Bruce gave her a small smile before nodding and turning back to Clint. "I would also keep Stark from coming up here." Bruce turned to her with a shake of his head.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's going to happen." Bruce sighed as he headed toward the elevator. Once he stepped on, he turned to look over to the woman. "Let me know what Franklin says, alright?" Natasha nodded just as the doors closed.

Natasha walked over and took a seat, her eyes going to the man walking back and forth in front of her.

"Don't tell me to stop." Clint muttered.

"I wasn't. I know how you deal and I know this helps." Natasha replied tilting her head slightly as a sudden thought hits her. "Do you remember when Fury made you Katie's eyes?" she chuckled to herself. "You wouldn't shut up about how menial the job was, and how " _you were a fucking agent and spying on some computer chick"_ was beneath you." Natasha noticed the fists that Clint held at his side, seemed to relax. "And then you came back and nothing. I expected you to talk my ear off about the whole thing, but then just nothing. Well that's a lie, I noticed you smiling a lot. I just chucked it under the fact that you were a boy and boys were weird." she turned away slightly with a shake of her head. "But then one day we were having lunch and I finally asked you about the mission, and you used her name."

"And that's weird?"

"For us, yeah." Natasha says turning back to him, noticing his pace had lost it's momentum. "We talked about missions all the time, rarely used names, always 'Mark'. Names made them something they weren't. They were just marks and that's it." Clint stopped pacing suddenly and let out a deep breath. "So when you said her name I just knew the reason behind your current wave of strangeness." Clint took the seat beside her and buried his face in his hands and she reached out a ran a hand across his back. "You fell in love with a mark."

"Do you think he knew?" Clint asked sitting up and turning to her. "I mean, I was a good agent. Not someone you pick to spy on some random girl."

"Except she wasn't random." Natasha replied. "She was the daughter of the man he thought of as a brother. She was the daughter of his partner." Suddenly the doors pushed open and out walked a very exhausted Franklin. Clint jumped to his feet, rushing over to the man who held out his hands to stop the man.

"Is she alright? Is the baby alright? What happened?" Each question came one after the other, not giving the doctor a chance to even answer.

"Alright." Franklin says placing his hands on Clint's shoulders. "Before we talk, we're going to sit." Franklin moved around him to take one of the seats, but Clint didn't move. "Clint—"

"It's bad, right?" Clint said dropping his head.

"Just sit down." Franklin replied firmly, and Clint took another deep breath before walking over and returning to his seat now between Natasha and Franklin. Franklin leaned forward slightly, glancing over to Natasha. "We're about to have a very important conversation." he glanced over to Clint. "Is it alright that she stays."

"It's fine." Clint says unable to even look at the man. The movie in his head at the moment were events that haven't even happened yet. It was the possibilities that are playing over and over in his head. "Just say it."

"Alright," Franklin says pulling the stethoscope from around his neck and placing it in his lap as he sits back in his seat. "Katie is fine, so is the baby." A sigh of relief escaped Clint's lips, but he knew there was more.

"But-"

"A couple of things happened tonight. One, Katie apparently had been having contractions for the better part of the night." Clint turned to the man with wide eyes and Franklin just held up his hand. "I checked and there is no dilation or even any sign of labor, so I think it was just false labor, which is normal this close to the due date. I just wished she would've said something sooner, but I've already talked to her about it. This being her first pregnancy, every new feeling or sensation should get passed to me, so I can assess they're importance." Clint simply nodded his head in agreement and then Franklin turned away from him, a move that made Clint nervous.

"Franklin?"

"Just to be on the safe side, I ran an array of tests to make sure Katie and the baby were really alright." Franklin finally turned his eyes back to Clint who was watching and waiting. "She has preeclampsia." the words came out of Franklin's mouth and Clint once again buried his face in the palms of his hands. He remembers the word from one of the baby books he's read, and he remembers sending a silent prayer that it would never happen to them. But it did.

"What does that mean?" Natasha asked, speaking for the first time since the man came out. She told herself she would just sit here and be supportive, but this word, 'preeclampsia' didn't sound good.

"It's a disorder that effects a small percentage of women, usually during the last half of pregnancy. In Katie it's her blood pressure. When she came in tonight it was through the roof, and there were high levels of protein in her urine." Franklin turns to Clint who still has yet to respond.

"Is there a cure, like some kind of pill that just makes it go away?" Natasha asked and Franklin just shook his head.

"The only cure is delivery." and that's when Clint lifted his head and turned to the man. "Clint I know this isn't something you want to hear—"

"Is this the only way?" Clint asked finally speaking.

"It's the way that reduces many of the risks." Franklin replied. "We caught it, and that means there's a greater chance—" Franklin stopped talking because this was the conversation he'd been afraid of having.

"What?"

"If we don't deliver, there are risks associated with going full term. The biggest is the possible death of Katie or the baby." the moment the words came out of Franklin's mouth, Clint felt the air leave his lungs. He turned away from the man, not hearing anything he said after that. "Clint?" still no response, and Franklin looked over to Natasha whose face had pulled into a frown. She actually looked as if she wanted to cry and then she felt his eyes on her and suddenly it was gone.

"He just needs a minute." Natasha says and Franklin nods.

"Look, right now she's sleeping. I gave her a mild sedative to calm her down. When she wakes up, we're going to have to have this conversation all over again with her." he looks over to Clint and places a hand on his shoulder. "This needs to happen. I'm going start getting things in motion. You can go sit with her when you're ready." he finally stands to his feet and heads back through the double doors.

"Barton?" she placed a hand on his shoulder, but he pulled from her touch standing to his feet and walking through those double doors to find his wife.

Tony looked down to his computer, the events of the night still not making any sense, and now all fingers were being pointed at him.

"The Avengers were supposed to be different from SHIELD." Steve said and Tony had to bite his tongue from saying what he really wanted to say, instead he turned to the man and shook his head.

"Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?" Tony asked glaring over to captain. "Saved New York? Recall that?" he glanced around to the faces of the team who didn't know what he was getting at. "A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing three hundred feet below it. We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the live long day, but..." he glanced up to the ceiling with a slight shake of his head. "...that up there? That's...that's the end game." his eyes once again meets Steve. "How were you guys planning on beating that?"

"Together." Steve states with unwavering certainty.

"We'll lose."

"Then we'll do that together, too." Steve replies firmly, before turning to the others. "Thor's right. Ultron's calling us out. And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us. The world's a big place. Let's start making it smaller." he heads out of the lab, when suddenly a ringing phone stops him in his place. They all look over to Bruce, who snakes his phone from his pocket and looks down to the ID.

"It's Natasha." he says before quickly bringing the phone to his ear. Everyone in the room watch as his once passive expression, falls into a frown. "Yeah, I will let them know." and with that the doctor ends the call and looks up the waiting eyes.

"She's fine." Tony says needing those words to come out of Bruce's mouth right now. "Say she's fine."

"Her and the baby are fine at the moment." Bruce says and the lingering 'but' sits in the air and they all wait for him to continue.

"Doctor?" Steve says taking a step forward. "What is it?"

"She has preeclampsia, and Franklin thinks the only coarse of action now is to induce labor." Bruce states looking between their faces.

"Is that safe?" Maria asks no longer caring about the glass in her foot as she stands.

"There are risks. Those risks are greater if this doesn't happen." Bruce says turning back to Tony who turned away slightly before turning and heading for the door. "Tony no!" Steve side stepped him, and blocked his way.

"I get you're a super soldier, but I will fight you right now if you don't move." Tony said through clenched teeth.

"And how does you going up there help in any way other than upsetting her or Clint—"

"I don't care about upsetting Clint!" Tony snapped angrily. "She's my friend, she needs—"

"Tony she needs her husband and for us to figure out this whole Ultron mess right here." Bruce says and Tony turns a glare to him. "If you go up there, you won't be helping."

"Bruce is right." Steve says and Tony turns back to him. "We have to have faith that Franklin knows what he's doing. Right now that's what we need to believe." Steve turned to leave once again.

"Where are you going?" Tony asks and the Captain sighs and turns back to him.

"I thought her parents should know what was happening with their daughter."

"And it's me you're afraid will upset her?" Tony muttered a shake of his head before forcing himself to go back to his computer to assess the damage.

Clint was in a room surrounded by the whooshing sound that played from the fetal monitor that was strapped around Katie's stomach. He watched the subtle rise and fall of her chest as she slept all night. Sleep wasn't something he could possibly do at the moment. Franklin's words kept replaying in his head over and over again and he couldn't get it to stop.

Soon the sun filtered into the room, making it brighter, and yet it felt just as cold and sad as it did before. At least in Clint's opinion. It was the early parts of the morning when Franklin emerged into the room, now dressed in pale blue scrubs.

"Did you get any sleep?" Franklin asked going over to monitor to check the results.

"No." Clint replied rubbing his fingers over his eyes. "So is everything ready?"

"Yep, we just need to talk to Katie and—" a soft murmur escape Katie's lips and Clint quickly stood to his feet and was at her side. He took her hand as she turned her head, her eyes opening slightly. She stared at him for a few moments, before a frightened look passed over her face.

"Bart, the baby!" she tried to sit up from the bed frantically, but Clint held her tight, and Franklin ran to the other side to calm her.

"Katie calm down, the baby's fine." Franklin says placing a hand on her belly. "See, the baby's fine." Katie's hand shot to her belly and she smiled when she felt the slight fluttering from the kicking child inside of her. She fell back on the bed and let out a deep sigh. Franklin looked over to Clint and nodded. "But there's something we need to talk about." Katie lifted her head to the man who had a certain look that made her nervous. She turned her head to Clint who wore the same look.

"What's wrong?"

"Kat—"

"Tell me!" she turned her eyes to Franklin who took a deep breath before finally telling her the truth. The room once again fell into silence after Franklin told her what was happening and what needed to happen next. Her eyes went to window, as she sat quietly thinking over his words.

"Katie, I can only imagine what's going through your head right now, but I feel the safest route is inducing. You're far enough into this pregnancy that delivering now probably will have little to no effects to the baby."

"Probably." Katie muttered not tearing her eyes from the window.

"Kat, if we don't do this there's a chance that you and the baby might not make it full term." Clint says giving her hand a gentle squeeze. He placed his other hand on her belly and sighed. "If this is what Franklin thinks is the right decision, then I say we do it."

"In your book, did you read the risks associated with inducing labor?" Katie asks, before turning to Franklin. "I mean that hasn't come up in your whole suggestion."

"Of course there are risks, but compared to what could happen if we don't do this-"

"Franklin," Clint interrupted and the doctor turned to him. "Could you give us a minute?" Franklin turned back to Katie who refused to look at him.

"Think about this Katie." The doctor said before turning and leaving the room.

"Kat, look at me." Clint says, but Katie continued to avoid his gaze. "I know you're scared, so am I, but this thing, this preeclampsia, it only goes away when the baby is born. If we don't do anything, then it gets worse and it puts both you and the baby at risk."

"It doesn't feel right." Katie said with a shake of her head. "I hear you, I hear Franklin, but—" she looked down to her stomach. "This is supposed to happen a certain way. Nine months, and then my water breaks and then we come here and I deliver. This baby is supposed to come when it's time."

"Kat, don't you understand!" Clint snapped unintentionally, and Katie turned away from him. "You could die. The baby could die. How is there even a debate about this?"

"Because there are risks with induction, just like there are risks with me going full term!" Katie replied just as defiantly. "I don't want to mess this up with drugs and altering what is supposed to happen. This is supposed to happen naturally."

"Except it's not!" Clint replied moving around the bed to meet her eyes once again. "This is happening Kat. This disorder is real, and we need to do this."

"No." Katie says with a shake of her head.

"Do I even get a say in this? This is my baby too, you're my—" Clint dropped his his head and let out a shaky breath before lifting his eyes to meet her. "My whole world is right here in this room and I can't lose it. I can't—" he took her hand in his and dropped his head to rest on hers. "I can't lose you."

"You know I read this stupid magazine, and it said something about mothers having this instinct when it comes to their children. I hear what Franklin is saying and I hear what you are saying, and right now I just need you to trust me. I can make it full term. I can have this baby naturally."

"Kat-"

"I can have this baby naturally!" tears were falling down Katie's face and Clint brought his arms around her in a tight hug. "I can have this baby naturally."

"Alright." Clint says placing a kiss to the top of her head. "Alright."

When Clint finally stepped from the room, Franklin pushed off the wall and rushed over to him with an expectant look.

"Alright, she needs to be prepped and-"

"How can she make it through the rest of this pregnancy?" Clint asked and Franklin looked over to him dumbfounded. "Franklin-"

"Did you not hear me before?!" Franklin asked angrily, and Clint grabbed his arm and pushed him away from Katie's room so she couldn't hear. The doctor pulled from his grasp once they reached the waiting area. "I don't think you understand-"

"I do understand Frank!" Clint snapped. "I do, believe me I do, but she doesn't want to do this. She says it doesn't feel right, so we're not doing this."

"She's scared. She's scared and right now we just need to convince her that this is the right move."

"Franklin, I know my wife. When she's made up her mind about something, then there isn't any changing it. Now tell me, how does she make it through the rest of this pregnancy?"

"Can you promise a stress free environment? One where robots or whatever don't crash through the walls and shoot at her?" Franklin asked with a shake of his head. "You want this to happen naturally, you want her to make it through this pregnancy, then I think you need to seriously consider getting the hell out of this damn tower." And with that Franklin turned and stormed off. Clint let out a sigh, when suddenly the elevator doors pulled open and out came Cynthia and Martin.

"Cindy, wait-" Martin tried to hold the woman back, but it was as if the woman didn't even hear him as she walked straight over to Clint.

"What are you doing here?"

"What am I—she's my daughter!" Cynthia snapped looking around the waiting room, before spotting the double doors. "Is she back there?" Cynthia moved to walk through the doors, but Clint stepped to the side to block her.

"There's no way in hell I'm letting either one of you near her right now." Clint says glancing over to Martin who grabbed Cynthia's arm and pulled her back, before stepping forward. "You had your chance to be in her life and you blew it, so just do everyone a favor and leave."

"You know I think if your child was born you'd understand why that is an impossible request son." Martin says with a shake of his head. "We made a mistake, we admit that, but it was all because we thought it was what was best for her. "

"Because being raised by undercover SHIELD agents and being recruited by the agency that tried to kill her, that was what was best for her." Clint turned away from them. "Just leave. She doesn't want you here and until she does, you don't come anywhere near her."

"She is our daughter!" Cynthia yelled angrily and Clint stopped walking. "She's my baby, and she is in a hospital, and you're telling me that I can't see her." Clint turned back to her and sighed. "I cried every night after I left her." tears streamed down the woman's cheeks. "Every night I laid in bed and I thought about my beautiful daughter who I had to leave to protect. " She began walking over to the archer who still found it hard to look at her and not see the remnants of his wife in her features. "So no Mr. Barton, we're not leaving. We will stay here until we see her."

Clint looked between Martin and Cynthia silently, before simply nodding and turning and walking through the double doors.

When Clint walked back into Katie's room, he took a seat beside her bed, and the pair didn't say much else to each other. The situation was still fresh, still lingering in the air and neither had the ability to just pretend that it wasn't.

"You should go find the others." Katie spoke breaking her silence. Clint looked over to her in confusion, because he couldn't even dream of leaving her right now. "If that was Ultron, then he's not gone. He's in everything and the first thing that needs to happen is finding him."

"And I'm sure the others are on top of that." Clint says sitting up straighter to look over to her. "I'm not leaving you."

"You're angry."

"Well of course I'm angry. You made a decision, and I have no input. So if this entire thing goes bad-"

"Then it's my fault, I get it. If we lose the baby, then you can blame me, but until then, leave. Go figure out where this thing is, and make sure it's not coming back. I need to know that it's not coming back" Clint looks at his wife and see the emotions she refuses to say with her mouth. He knows she scared. Of losing the baby, of another attack and he just feels helpless to it all.

"Alright." Clint says standing to his feet. "I will see where they are with this whole thing, and then I'm coming back." he walked over and placed a kiss on top of her head, and slid a hand across her stomach. Clint turned to walk away, but Katie caught his hand and pulled him back to her and he immediately thought something was wrong. "What?"

"Kiss me. Right now, I need you to kiss me and make everything better." Katie says and Clint turns, placing his hands of the sides of her face.

"Kat, we will get through this. I promise." Clint replies before bringing his lips to capture hers. The kiss was passionate, searing, but it was more than that. It was filled with promise and hope that Clint was holding onto and hoping his wife would grab as well. Yes he was scared, yes he was angry that this was happening to them, but he believed that like every other challenge that has come at them, they will beat this. When they pulled apart, they rested their foreheads against each other. "I'm going to make this better." and with that Clint stood up straight and headed for the door. He passed through the waiting area, ignoring the looks from her parents before stepping onto the elevator. The moment the doors closed, Clint took out his cell phone and dialed a familiar number. "Hey...nope, no I- will you shut up?" Clint let out a sigh. "Yeah, something has happened, and it needs to be ready... Alright, thanks."

When the elevator doors opened, Clint stepped off in search of the others. When he found them they were in the common area, which was now filled with boxes.

"Hey." Bruce said spotting him first. Suddenly all eyes went to him, each with that look of pity he really didn't need right now. "How is she? I thought she'd be in surgery now."

"She refused the induction." Clint replied looking over to the doctor. "She wants the delivery to happen naturally." he shook his head before turning to the others. "Where are Stark, and Matt?" everyone looked around as if finally noticing that the men were even gone.

"I have no idea." Steve answered. "But I doubt with those two, it's anything good."

Matthew and Tony stood on an elevator not many of it's residents knew about. Tony created it when he needed to get to places quicker and because, well secret elevators were just cool.

"I still can't believe you have a secret elevator no one knows about." Matthew said with a shake of his head. "I don't even understand the purpose."

"Why does everything need a purpose?" Tony asked once the elevator doors opened, and they found themselves in one of the halls of the MedU. They both walked off, rushing down the hall only stopping at the nursing station, and smiled at the familiar face behind it.

"Mistress," Matthew said staring down to nurse Blair. "You're looking radiant this fine morning."

"Oh, your bullshit still hasn't found a way to hypnotize me Mr. Banks." the woman said before glancing over to Tony. "Franklin wants limited visitors."

"There's two of us." Tony says. "How limited can you get?" he leaned over the desk slightly. "Plus, you know I sort of assumed that since I own-"

"Everything, we know Mr. Stark, but you see you can't fire us for not breaking rules for you. Ms. Potts has assured everyone here of that." Nurse Blair said with a sweet smile. "So if you didn't mind, I was busy."

"Busy with what, there's one patient here." Tony replies with a shake of his head before turning and spotting Franklin. "New plan." he nudges Matthew shoulder and before walking over to the doctor. "Hey Frankie!" Franklin looks up from the chart he's reading and sighs.

"No visitors, Mr. Stark and I would like to be able to say that only once and you just listen." Franklin replies and both Matthew and Tony notice the frustration in the man's voice. "I would like something to go right today."

"What are you talking about? Is my sister alright?" Matthew asked and Franklin nods.

"For the moment yes, but she's not going through with inducing, so my hands are tied." Franklin looks back down to the chart. "She's being stubborn and-" Matthew takes the chart from the man's hands forcing him to look to him.

"What are the chances she can make it to the end?" Matthew asks seriously and Franklin sighs, running his fingers through his hair.

"If I had to guess, with her life, I would say about thirty percent. And that's me overestimating. She is an Avenger and she fights aliens, or robots or whatever, or she finds out her dead parents are really alive." Franklin took the chart back from Matthew. "The only way she makes this is keeping her BP low and going to a stress free environment, which I doubt is anywhere near here."

"So leave, that's what you're saying?" Tony asked and Franklin looked over to him. "The only way she makes this is leaving?"

"No, the better her chances are if she gets far away from the crazy that happens here." Franklin replied with a shake of his head. "Look, I think I saw Clint head downstairs, so if you want to stop in, say hi-" he held up two fingers. "Two minutes, no more. Any longer and if Clint finds you, then I'm saying you both just snuck in." he pointed down the hall. "She's in five." Tony and Matthew nodded before turning and heading down the hall. "Two minutes!"

When they finally reached the door, Tony reached forward to open it, but Matthew caught his arm.

"Should we knock? What if she's like indisposed or something?" Matthew asked and Tony looked at him in obvious confusion. "I know the consequences of not knocking." Tony just rolled his eyes before reaching forward and pushing open the door. They walked in an immediately stopped at the scene they had just burst in on. Katie was crying. A scene neither man was used to seeing.

"What are you guys doing here?" Katie asks trying to wipe tears away with her hands.

"Why do you think we're here Rinny?" Matthew says coming to his sister's side, and sitting on the edge of the bed beside her, taking her hand in his. "You're my sister and I love you. So when serious stuff like this happens, I'm there." he reached over on the bedside table and grabbed a couple of tissues and handed them to her. "Why are you crying?"

"I don't know, everything." Katie says drying her eyes with the tissues, before turning to Tony who stood silently in the spot in front of her bed. "Tony I'm fine, really. You just caught me in one of my hormonal moments." he just stared at her without a word. Katie sighs before turning back to her brother. "Have you given the CIA a heads up to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity?"

"Yeah, I called Jack who wanted an explanation and I just didn't think telling him an AI was on the loose would suffice." Matthew replied and Katie just nodded before turning back to Tony.

"Mattie, give us a minute." Katie says and Matt nods, bringing her hand to his lips for a kiss before rubbing her stomach. The moment he was gone, Katie turned to Tony and waved for him to sit in the spot Matthew had just vacated on the bed, but he didn't move."Tony-"

"I'm sorry." Tony said suddenly and Katie shook her head.

"Why are you sorry?"

"Look at you!" Tony says staring at the woman who was hooked up to so many monitors and who he'd just seen crying. "I did this, I—"

"Tony, you didn't do this." Katie interrupted. "You had a dream, one where you wanted a better world, one where we wouldn't be afraid of the things bigger than us."

"That dream became a monster that tried to kill us." Tony sighed walking over to the window. "It's my fault. Everyone seems to think so."

"I don't. Sure I had my reservations on the whole Ultron thing and using the scepter and Strucker's findings, but I didn't say anything because a part of me believed in your dream. A part of me still believes in your dream." Tony looked over to her. "You created a monster and I have no doubt you will fix it."

"You have that much faith in me?"

"You think I would've stuck around all this time if I didn't?" Katie asked with a slight smile. "You, Mr. Stark, are my best friend and I believe in my heart that you want to save the world. That's why I stayed. That's why I'm here. Because I wanted to be apart of it." Tony began walking over to her, but stopped when the door opened and in stormed Clint. He glared over to Tony opening his mouth, but stopping himself and taking a long deep breath and turning to Katie. He wanted to yell, and probably do more to the man standing beside his wife, but he had to remember that his wife didn't need the stress. "Tony, I think you should leave." Tony turned to Katie who stared at Clint before turning to him.

"Right." Tony says with a nod before heading to the door.

"Wait!" Katie says and the man stops and turns to her. "JARVIS. Did you figure out what happened to him?" Tony's face once again pulled into a frown that made Katie nervous. "What?"

"JARVIS is dead." Tony says and Katie visibly deflates at the news. "Ultron made sure to destroy everything." Katie dropped her head for a moment and Tony shook his head. "I'm sorry."

"Stop saying that." Katie says looking back up to the man. "Tony Stark doesn't apologize to anyone."

"To you I do." he replied with a wink.

"Could you email me your data on Ultron, maybe I can see something that might-"

"No." Clint interrupted with a shake of his head. "You're not in this fight at all." It wasn't a question or even a suggestion, it was blatant order. Clint turned to Tony. "They're looking for you to prepare to ship out." Tony just nodded before glancing over to Katie one final time before leaving. Clint can feel the glare on the back of his head before he even turns around.

"I'm not in on this fight?" Katie asked, and Clint let out a long, deep sigh. "Do I no longer have a choice?"

"At the moment, no." Clint says with a shake of his head. "You want to be able to get through this pregnancy, then for it's duration, you're no longer a member of the Avengers. You're just a woman who sits and watches television, or hey, didn't you start knitting a while back, you could pick that up again."

"You're joking?"

"I wish I was Kat." Clint says walking over and sitting beside her on the edge of the bed. "This is the way it has to be to reduce all risks." Katie turned away from him and sighed.

"Fine." she said begrudgingly. "Not sure how out of it I can be here, but fine." she turned to Clint who was smiling. "What?" Clint opened his mouth when the door, burst open and in walked Steve.

"Uh, hey," Steve said awkwardly looking from Clint to Katie. "Sorry, I know you're supposed to be resting, but I needed to talk to Clint." Steve looked over to the man who looked over confused. "It's about Wakanda."

"Wakanda?" Katie asked looking over to her husband. "Haven't heard that name in a long time." she turned back to Steve who kept his eyes on Clint. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Clint says standing to his feet. "I'll be right back." Steve gave Katie a nod before turning and leaving, Clint right behind him. Once the door was closed, Clint turned to Steve. "The answer is no."

"Trust me when I say I understand why coming along on this mission is the last thing you want to do." Steve started. "But you've seen what Ultron is capable of and-"

"And you have Thor, and you have hulk, and you have Stark and his suits." Clint replied taking a step forward. "I'm sorry Captain. I know what the fight is for and I know what it means to be apart of this team, but there is absolutely nothing that will get me to leave that woman's side." Steve glanced up to Katie's door and let out a deep sigh before turning back to Clint. "I'm sorry." Steve stood there for a few moments looking between the door and Clint, obviously wanting to say something. "Was that all?"

"Yeah." Steve says with a nod, glancing over to the door once again. "Take care of her." Clint nods before watching the man turn and head down the hall.

When Clint walked back into Katie's room, he was met with her questioning gaze before he could even take his seat.

"Wakanda. Where the strongest metal in the world is located." Katie spoke turning to Clint. "It's where Howard Stark found the metal for Steve's shield. Why does Steve want to talk to you about Wakanda?" Clint opened his mouth, but Katie held up a hand. "Before you say it's nothing or that it's not important, please be aware that I will throw something at you."

"Strucker is dead. Ultron killed him. They were able to locate a known associate of Strucker in Wakanda, by the name-"

"Let me guess, Ulysses Klaue?" Katie asks and Clint tilts his head slightly. "SHEILD had some very extensive records on the man. And now I guess Klaue has access to vibranium, which Ultron wants. He's trying to make himself indestructible."

"Maybe, but at the moment it's not our problem."

"Our problem?" Katie asks. "Wait, did Steve ask you to help them?" Clint doesn't say anything as he turns away. "And you said no?"

"No, I said I wasn't leaving my pregnant wife when there are complications that are affecting her and our child. I'm not going Kat-" Katie just nodded and turned away from him. "I'm staying here with you. Isn't that what you want?"

"Do you know what makes this moment different than our time in Ashurst? When we didn't fight, when we didn't let the world's troubles be ours, it was because we didn't know about them." she turned back to Clint. "It made it easy to not turn on the television, or read the newspaper, because if we didn't see it, then we could pretend as if it wasn't happening. I liked that life. It was simple and quiet, but that life doesn't exist." she reached out and took Clint's hand in hers. "You are an Avenger. You help save the world from the bad things that threaten to hurt people who are no match. This-" she looks down and places her hand on her stomach. "This doesn't change that. This baby isn't coming yet. I'm more than likely going to end up on bed rest and you sitting at my side and worrying doesn't help anything."

"Do you honestly think I could go out there and give my all in a fight when I know you're here?"

"You know I actually do. I think you give your all in every fight you're in." Clint turned away from her once again, and she knew he was starting to consider this. "Clint if you want to stay here and you want to stick by my side through this entire thing, then I won't stop you, but I don't think it will stop the guilt if something goes wrong for them that you could've stopped." They sat in silence for a few moments, the only sounds coming from the many monitors in the room. Katie just laid back in her bed and placed her hands above her belly. "We need to decide on a name." Clint turned to her. "We've procrastinated long enough." Clint stood to his feet and slid his fingers through the back of her head before pulling her to his lips. It was an answer. One she knew he was going to make, but one that still made her nervous.

"You do not have this baby before I get back." Clint whispers against her lips. "You wait for me, alright?"

"Alright." Katie says before pressing another kiss to her lips. "You just come back to me, alright?"

"Alright." Clint replied pulling just inches apart to look into her eyes. "I love you. More than anything in this world." Katie placed a hand on his cheek.

"I know. I love you too." was her reply, and Clint leaned in to kiss her once more. "You keep kissing me and I'm not going to let you go." He pulled back once again, and she knew he was still debating leaving or not, but in the end he stood up straight.

"I have my phone."

"I have mine, so if I want to talk your ear off about not being able to see my feet, I'm going to call you." Clint smiled at her dropping a final kiss to her head before turning and heading for the door. He stopped, with his hand on the door knob, still hesitating. "Bart?"

"I'm going." he muttered before finally opening the door and walking out. He didn't turn back, because he knew if he did, he wouldn't go. When he reached the waiting area, he once again spotted Cynthia and Martin sitting, both looked up to him. This time instead of ignoring them he walks over.

"Is she alright?" Cynthia asks as she and Martin stand to their feet.

"She's fine for the moment. She refused to induce, so she's going to try to go full term."

"But if the doctor thinks inducing is the safest route, then that usually means trying to do this naturally could be dangerous." Cynthia replied and Clint just sighed, but nodded. "I want to talk to her."

"Look, Franklin and I have tried to convince her to go through with this, but she's not budging on this." Clint replied before looking over to Martin. "Could I talk to you?" Martin stared at the man for a moment before nodding and looking over to Cynthia who stepped away. "I'm not sure if you heard, but there has been a lead on this Ultron thing. We think he may be in Wakanda."

"Lots of dangerous things he could get his hands on down there." Martin replied with a shake of his head. "He's going to need to be stopped before he does."

"We are aware of that. It's gonna need to be an all hands on deck sort of mission and I wouldn't go, but-"

"She told you to." Martin says and Clint nods. "She gets that from her mother. She knows some jobs are just too important to skip."

"Yeah, and it's gonna kill me to leave her, but the only way I can is to leave her with someone I know will protect her at all costs." Clint takes a deep breath before meeting the man's eyes. "Sir-"

"If you're about to ask me to protect my daughter, then you can save your breath. That's not a request you need to make." Clint nodded once again, before looking over his shoulder only to find Cynthia had disappeared. Martin followed his gaze, noticing the same. Clint turned back to Martin who just held up a hand. "Don't worry, Cindy knows to keep it light."

Katie's eyes went back to the window, at the bright sunlight that filtered in. She mindlessly rubbed circles over her stomach, as she feels the baby kicking.

"Alright baby, you and I are going to make a deal. At least one thing in my life has to go as planned." she turned to look down to her stomach. "You and me are going to get through this all the way to the end." there was a knock at her door and Katie lifted her head. "Come in?" when the door pushed open a face she didn't expect appeared in front of her. "What are you doing here?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Cynthia asked, remaining at the spot in front of Katie's bed. "You're my daughter, and I care about your well being."

"I think it's a little too late for that." Katie replied. "Could you please just leave."

"Not until you hear the truth." Cynthia replied and Katie let out an annoyed sigh before turning away. "The day I found out I was pregnant with you, was the same day I was brought into the director's office, the one before Nick, and told my name had been placed on a wanted list that was being shopped around by suspected HYDRA members." Cynthia turned and looked toward the window as well. "I remember that day so vivdly, because just minutes prior I had gotten the call from my doctor, and then I was in the director's office being told that I would be forced into witness protection and since Martin wouldn't be allowed to go with me, then I would have to go alone. The last thing you want to hear when you find out you're going to have a baby is that you're going to be taken to some unknown location away from the people that you love." Katie turned back to the woman who met her eyes. "So I thought if I told him about the baby, he would come up with some different plan, and then do you know what he told me?" a tear fell from the woman's eyes. "He said what a shame. I just got the happiest news of my life and he thought it was a shame." Cynthia shook her head at the thought. "He told me witness protection wouldn't be able to accommodate both me and a baby, so for the duration of my pregnancy would be spent in SHIELD HQ, and then after I would have to give you to your father and leave you."

"So that's where you got the idea?" Katie asked and Cynthia scoffed taking a step forward.

"No, that's not- " the woman took a deep breath. "I told your father and he didn't trust it. He'd been working on an investigation on his own about SHEILD possibly being compromised. So the thought of them sending me off to God's knows where wasn't going to fly with him. He came up with a plan. I would fake my death, go to an undisclosed location and wait for the both of you, but it didn't happen that way. When he quit SHIELD he knew there would be backlash and suspicion and he knew that if SHIELD really was compromised that whoever was infiltrating them may know he was on to them. He was right." the woman wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand. "A contact of your father let him know of a possible attempt on his life and your father was supposed take you and get as far away."

"What happened?"

"Running was always supposed to be our life the day we decided to leave SHIELD. We accepted that for us, but we didn't want that for you. You were supposed to have a life, a nice normal life, but SHEILD found you and sucked you back in and there was nothing we could do."

"You could've called, or sent an email, maybe a letter." Katie replies with a shake of her head. "I grew up most of my life thinking I was alone, and one simple note could've changed all of that."

"We were scared. You were gonna hate us and that's something we didn't think we could handle, so we thought it was best if you believed we were dead. We kept track of you. I have every single article clipping, every science journal, you were-" a smile tugged on the woman's lips. "You were great and we were so proud." Cynthia took another step closer, a move Katie didn't object. "Maybe hiding from you for so long wasn't the best choice, and it's a decision me and your father will live with for the rest of our lives, but I promise you that we're here now and we always will be." The room fell into silence and the two women just stared at one another as the new information passed through the room.

"I have questions." Katie finally said and Cynthia just nodded.

"Of course you do." the woman replied walking over and taking the seat beside Katie's bed. "I will answer everyone of them."

Martin sat in the waiting room for hours, but he didn't mind. He knew that if Cynthia was in with Katie this long, then they must be getting on the right track. He just hopes that he will be given the same opportunity. He wasn't completely alone. One or two hours earlier, Matthew showed up and sat beside him, weirdly engaging him in conversation throughout the night and some of the morning.

"Yeah, so I was approached by this guy claiming to be an agent from this weird ass agency with this crazy name, and I declined." Matthew said looking down to his cup of horrible coffee. "Who would've thought that if I would've accepted, I may have been working with Rinny." he looked over to Martin who kept his eyes on the double doors. "What made you do it?"

"Do what?" Martin asked.

"Fake your death." Matthew replied and Martin turned to him. "I mean she was fifteen and she killed a guy because she thought he killed you." Martin let out a deep sigh before turning away.

"I didn't think they would send Lumen. He was always a sadistic kind of bastard. I expected someone who would at least have the heart to try and kill me when she wasn't around." the man shook his head. "I trained her in everything, but never how to kill. I don't think I could even fathom doing that. I would've done anything so that wouldn't have had to happen."

"You know what I've learned?" Matthew asked and Martin once again turned to him. "Everything has a purpose. Your decisions are the reason I have a sister and the reason she was brought into SHIELD and met the man she was going to marry. It's the reason she met a crazy billionaire, and it's the reason she's going to have baby soon. Sometimes how we get here isn't important and she's gonna get that." Martin gave the young man a nod, just as the elevator doors slid open and out walked Maria who stalked over to Martin and Matthew.

"Have I told you how much I hate being the errand girl?" Maria asked only to get confused looks from both men. "Have either of you seen the news?"

"No, but I'm guessing from your face, it's not good." Matthew replied just as his cell phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket.

"That is your boss calling to inform you of the current fuck up that is the Avengers." Maria replied and Matthew looked up to her. "Just go, do damage control and let him know the situation is handled."

"And when he asks me how?"

"Tell him the world is full of questions that can't be answered and that is one of them." Maria replied before turning to Martin. "I read your file, you're a pilot, right?"

"I know my way around a plane, why?"

"Because we need to move Katie asap before the shit storm hits this tower and we're going to need you to fly us out of here."

"Where are we going?" Martin asked and Maria shook her head with a shrug.

"All Clint told me was that it was a safe house."


	42. Chapter 42

Katie had accepted that in her life that random things would just happen. That's why when Maria, Franklin, and her parents stormed into her MedU room and told her that she needed to be moved, she just nodded before getting dressed and following them. That's how she ended up on a plane, her father flying, sitting beside her brother. She had dozed off just a few minutes into the flight.

"What the hell happened?" Matthew whispered over to Maria who sat across from them, her eyes in the phone in her hands.

"What did it look like?" Maria replied not even sparing the man a glance. "Wanda Maximoff, one of the mutants has the ability to get inside their heads and it blew up in their faces."

"What does that have to do with Ultron?" Matthew asked and Maria lifted her eyes to him with a raised brow. "The psycho robot has joined forces with the psycho mutants. Well isn't that swell." Matthew shook his head before falling back into his seat and looking over to his sleeping sister. "And I guess agent Asshat is trying to get her as far away from the fight as possible."

"You know even though you call him those stupid names, everyone knows you secretly like him." Maria said her eyes going back to her phone.

"I don't-" Matthew said turning back to the woman. "I don't like him. He still is super annoying and-"

"He loves your sister and is the father of her child and is like the brother you never had."

"You're super annoying too, you know?" Matthew replied as Cynthia walked over to them from the cock pit.

"Martin says we should be landing soon." she said taking the seat beside Maria. "Any word from Clint about what this place is?"

"No, he's keeping really hush, hush about it. He keeps telling me that it's a safe house." Maria says, still not lifting her eyes from her phone. It suddenly rings and she unstraps her seat belt and stands to her feet and walking off. Matthew watches with a furrowed brow trying to hear what she is saying, but she's whispering too quietly. He turns back to Cynthia whose eyes are on Katie with a smile.

"You know I never thought she would even speak to me, let alone let me sit this close to her." she turns to Matthew whose looking over to his sister.

"Well she's been on this forgiveness kick lately." Matthew replies turning back to the woman. "Something about wanting the air to be clear when the baby gets here."

"Whatever it is, I'm grateful, and I know her father is too." Cynthia replied. "I want to apologize to you."

"Me? Why?"

"You were a pawn for SHIELD or HYDRA or whatever. They used you to control her." Cynthia replied with a shake of her head, still unable to believe the lengths gone to get their daughter. She met the man's eyes once more. "You didn't deserve to be brought into this."

"Hey, my life wasn't all bad. Christopher and Evelyn Banks may have been undercover agents, but they were good at their jobs. It felt like a real family sometimes. At least to me." Maria returned to her seat and strapped her seat belt once again. "That looked like a very serious call."

"Well looks can be deceiving agent Black." Maria said with a smile over to him.

"You still working Agent Hill?" he asked and the woman chuckled with a shake of her head.

"I haven't been an agent in a long time." Maria replied. "I am currently an employee of Stark Industries. Anything else you need to know Agent."

"Probably." Matthew replied turning to look out the window as the plane begins to lower. "What the hell?" Both women turn to look out the window to see a large family farmhouse surrounded by acres of land. He turned back to Maria with a furrowed brow. "What kind of safe house is this?" Maria's eyes were on the house for a moment before a slight smile tugged at her lips before turning to the man and then it suddenly hit him.

Soon the plane landed, and they all stood to their feet. Cynthia was about to wake Katie who still hadn't woke up, but Matthew held up a hand to stop her.

"Let me check this place out first." he said as Martin stepped from the cockpit. Matthew looked over to him and nudged his head toward the door and Martin simply nodded as he followed after him. As soon as the planes door opens and down at the foot of the stairs is a familiar face.

"You have got to be kidding me?" Martin mutters looking around for a moment. "Somebody got a gun?"

"Aw, pops, you didn't miss me?" asked none other than Rick Mason. Maria moved the men aside and looked down to the man with a shake of her head. "Oh, Hilly!"

"I've always hated that name." Maria says stalking down the stairs to stand in front of the man. She looks him over for a few moments taking in his drastic appearance change. She was so used to the short hair, clean shaven man, and now his hair was to his shoulders, tucked behind his ears and his face was practically hidden under facial hair. "New look?"

"Yeah, well-" the man ran a hand over his beard. "I'm just trying it out for a while." he parted his arms for a hug. "C'mon give us a hug Hilly."

"I don't think so." Maria replied walking around the man and looking up to the house. "So this house?"

"You don't know?" Mason asked looking over to the woman.

"I think I do." she replied before turning back to the others who began stepping down from the plane.

"I didn't expect to see them." Mason whispered over to her.

"A lot of unexpected things have been happening lately." Maria replied turning back to the house. Mason looked over to the woman with a wide smile, before opening his mouth. "She's asleep on the plane."

"Can I wake her up?" Mason asked and Maria just shook her head.

"I'm not even sure you're even supposed to be here right now." Maria replied looking around. "Is Clint and the others here?" Mason open his mouth, when the sound of plane caught their attention. They both turned to see the team's quinjet coming in. Once it landed, Clint was the first to step off, the rest of the team following looking both exhausted and confused.

"Where is she?" Clint asked a bit out of breath. Maria nodded her head to the plane and the man turned and rushed up the stairs onto the plane. He spotted her instantly, her head resting on the back of the seat. A smile came to his lips and a deep breath left his lips at the sight of her. He'd been nervous the entire time he was away from her, worried that something bad was going to happen and he wasn't going to be there with her. And then things went bad with Ultron and the inhumans and the only thing he wanted was to lay eyes on the woman in front of him. He walked over and took the seat beside her, letting his hand fall to her stomach where he instantly felt a kick.

"Let mommy sleep please." Katie muttered not even bothering to open her eyes and Clint couldn't help but chuckle. "Not funny Bart." she said, but then realized what she just said and opened her eyes and turned to him. "Bart? Where—" she turned and looked out the window, to see the house. "Where are we?"

"We're home Kat." Clint said and Katie turned to him in confusion as he stood to his feet and held out a hand to her. "C'mon." Katie still wasn't sure what was going on, but she unbuckled her seat belt and took his hand letting him help her to his feet. Clint walked down the narrow stairs of the plane backwards as he held onto Katie's waist to help her down. Her eyes were still glued to the large white house, surrounded by nothing but land. "I was going to surprise you after the baby was born." she looked down to meet his eyes. "But I guess now is as good a time as any, right?" Once their feet touched the ground, they along with the others stood looking up to the house, before their eyes turned to her. "What do you think?" Katie looked over to him and opened her mouth, but no words came out. She was speechless. Her eyes went back to the house. Her house. No, their house apparently. A smile found it's way to her lips as she walked over to the steps of the porch, still holding onto Clint's hand. The others followed behind them, just as curious. All except for Tony, who couldn't move for a few moments.

"What's wrong?" Bruce asked turning to the man and walking over. Tony looked up to the house and Bruce followed his eyes.

"I guess it was inevitable." Tony said looking over to the doctor. "I was always going to lose her." Bruce simply sighed as the man finally began walking up the stairs of the porch.

Katie and Clint left the others downstairs to look around, but there was one room Clint had to show her. He pushed open the door, flicking on the light and a gasp escapes Katie's lips. She turns a wide smile to her husband and turns back to the room. A nursery.

"It's pretty plain right now," Clint says taking a few steps forward wrapping his arms around her, letting his hands rest on her stomach. "But I'm guessing we can decorate it more when whoever is in there finally comes out."

"Where's the crib?" she whispered.

"I'm going to build it." Clint replied placing a kiss to her shoulder. They stand there for a few moments in silence. "What do you think?" Katie spins around in his arms and he sees tears in her eyes and he reaches up to wipe them away. "So I did good?"

"Yeah, you did really good Mr. Barton." she replied wrapping her arms around him. She dropped her head on his chest and he placed a kiss on top of her head. "Now, will you tell me what happened with Ultron?"

"You don't want to know." Clint muttered. "C'mon, I'll show you to our room."

The others mulled around on the lower level of the house looking around the house. None of them had no idea of it's existence.

"How did he hide a whole house?" Steve asks looking up to a wall that hung pictures of Clint and Katie, and quite a few of the team.

"Easy," Tony said glancing around the house. "He just didn't mention it." Soon Clint came back downstairs without Katie.

"Well what do you guys think?" Clint asked looking to their faces. No one said anything at first and he looked at them confused. "What?"

"We didn't know you guys were going to be moving out of the tower." Steve said and Clint looked over to him and the others who seemed to share the same thought. "I mean we get the point of this place. We're happy for you."

"Speak for yourself Cap." Tony said and Clint turned an annoyed look to the man. "You couldn't get her any further away, huh?"

"Stark—"

"No, Steve. I mean that was a selling point huh?" Tony replied taking a step toward the man, causing the others to stand just a little straighter. "You wanted her as far away from me as possible."

"Despite what you believe Stark, this house—" Clint let his eyes look over the place for a moment with a slight smile. "This house has absolutely nothing to do with you. This was about what was best for my family."

"Which everyone here understands." Steve says making sure to send a look towards Tony, before looking to Thor who suddenly storms out the door. Steve follows after him.

"Look, there are rooms all over this place, find one, get cleaned up, rest." Clint says with a nod before heading back up the stairs. He found Katie in their bedroom, sitting on their bed with a laptop in front of her. "I see you found that." Clint says closing the door and walking over to see what she was doing. He looked down to the screen that was just a bunch of numbers that made no sense to him. "What are you doing?"

"Ultron is hiding somewhere in the world's bandwith, but he's there. I was seeing if there are any indications of where he may be." Katie says when Clint suddenly closes the laptop and she turns to him with wide eyes. "Oh lovely husband you were just on my good side, that could change quick." Clint simply smirks, before standing to his feet and placing the laptop back on the desk away from her. "What are you doing?"

"You are home and here you're not an Avenger. Here you're my wife, and the soon to be mother of our kid, and that's it." Clint replied as he began pulling off his gear. "Now I'm going to take a shower and then we're going to get you food." he walked over and placed a kiss to her lips before turning and walking into the conjoining bathroom. When she heard the shower running Katie subtly slid off the bed to her feet. "Don't even try it!" Clint called from the bathroom and Katie huffed falling back on the bed.

"Well from the doom and gloom on everyone's faces I would assume it didn't go great!" Katie called out to him.

"Kat, just give it up!" Clint called back and Katie rolled her eyes. Katie rolled over on her side, her eyes going over their room, the thought of waking up her everyday not seeming bad at all. Soon her eyes were once again heavy, and before she knew it she was fast asleep.

_The sun shined perfectly in the nursery, but Katie's eyes were on the bundle held tightly in her arms. The chubby cheeked baby was slowly falling asleep as the bottle was nearly empty._

_"This kid is going to eat us out of house and home." Clint said walking over and kneeling in front of her, running a hand across the child's soft hair._

_"I don't know, at the moment I'm the source of food so we should be alright for a while." Katie replied before looking over to Clint's whose eyes were looking down her shirt. "Your child is right here." he met her eyes and laughed. "Mind out the gutter mister."_

_"Sorry dear wife, I just didn't know about the baby bonues." he replied his head dropping again, and Katie kicked out a foot carefully. "Oh, I almost forgot. I got a surprise for you." Clint jumped to his feet and rushed out of the room and Katie just shook her head before standing to her feet._

_"Your daddy is crazy." she whispered kissing the baby's head. She lowers the baby into the crib, before walking around to the door. "Sweet dreams baby." Katie continues down the hall with the baby monitor in her hand. "Alright, I'm coming. This better be a spectacular surprise." she walked down the stairs still not finding her husband. "Bart?"_

_"Bart's not here," a robotic voice said from behind her and Katie froze. "But then again he'd just be a third wheel." Katie finally turned to see the robotic suit standing just inches away from her._

_"Ultron?" she looks around in hopes that Clint walks in. "What did you do to him?!" she turns a darkened eye to the AI who simply walks toward her. She tries to back away, but suddenly two of the Iron Legion grab her arms and pull her to him._

_"The same thing I'm going to do to you." Ultron growls leaning into her face. "And the same thing I'm going to do to your baby."_

Katie's eyes opened, and the first thing she noticed was her heart hammering in her chest. She tried to take deep breaths, but the dream was still fresh and playing in her head.

"Hey," Clint says coming to her side, placing his hands on her shoulders. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Katie replies with a shake of her head. "Just a bad dream." she looked up to him to see he had changed. "More flannel, huh?" Clint looked down to his shirt and chuckled.

"It's gonna grow on you Kat." Clint replies bringing his lips to hers, letting her back fall back against the bed.

"Where's everyone?" Katie asked against his lips and Clint pulled back slightly.

"They're around." he replied pulling her leg up and over his hip causing a moan to escape her lips. He leaned in to kiss her again, but she turned away. "What?"

"Tell me what happened." Katie replied turning back to him and Clint let out a frustrated growl.

"Ultron won with the help of Pietro and Wanda." Katie's eyes widen in confusion. "They apparently have a mutual enemy."

"What, how—" Katie turns away. "The file, uh-It said their parents were killed by an explosion. Were they Tony's?" Clint just nodded and Katie closed her eyes and sighed.

"You don't worry about this."

"How am I not supposed to worry about this." Katie replied opening her eyes once again. "This thing is big. Ultron is getting powerful and now he has the help of two mutants."

"Yeah, and we're going to stop them." Clint says and he can feel Katie's hand slide under his shirt, and rest on the spot where he was shot. "Kat-" he noticed the fear in her eyes. "what was your dream about?"

"You." she feels tears once again and she turns away. "You know there's a difference in understanding the need to fight and actually wanting it to happen." she turns back to him. "I understand how important each and everyone of you are to this fight, but it's scary. It didn't used to be this scary, but it is."

"You're not gonna lose me." Clint reassured bringing his lips back to hers. His hands were sliding under her shirt, when the sound of something cracking cut through the room. Clint pulled back and they both looked confused before standing from the bed, and walking over to the window to see Tony and Steve out chopping wood.

"Sights I never thought I would see. Tony Stark chopping wood." Katie says with a shake of her head. She notices whatever conversation happening between him and Steve seems pretty serious. "Maybe I should—" Clint caught her arm to stop her. "What are you doing now?"

"Trying to spend as much time—" he places a kiss to the nape of her neck causing a smile to come to her lips. "With my beautiful wife as possible."

"You're trying to distract me." Katie says trying not to fall under the man's spell. "It's not going to—" she quickly pulled away and moved toward the door. "It's not going to work." she turned and opened the door.

"Just stay out of it." Clint says from behind her as she carefully climbs down the stairs. "It doesn't—" before he could even get the sentence out, Mason appears and throws his arms around Katie in a tight hug.

"Aw worm, it's been too long." Rick said and Katie chuckled before pulling away and getting a look at him.

"Look at you, you hippie." Katie says sliding a hand through his hair. "I think Nicky would crap a cow if he saw his star agent looking like a hobo."

"Let's just hope that never happens." Rick replies before looking over to Clint.

"What are you even doing here, anyway?" Katie asks and he turns back to her.

"Mason used to be an architect before joining SHIELD." Clint says and Katie looks over to the man with wide eyes. "I called him and asked him to do this and surprisingly he agreed."

"Well surprisingly I am a nice guy." Mason says looking over to Clint. "Uh, can we talk?"

"Now's not a good time." Clint says turning as Katie slips out the front door. He goes to follow her, but Mason slides to block him. "I know you helped me, but I will hit you."

"Chill, I just thought you should know that the house isn't completely, complete." the man says gaining a glare from Clint. "It's just a couple of things."

"Like what?"

"Some of the rooms still need to be painted, the back porch has a few loose boards that needed to be fixed, there is a tractor out back that is cool, but doesn't run, uh there—"

"Stop talking and just show me."

Katie walked outside, heading over to Tony and Steve, just as Steve picked up one of the logs and pulled it apart with his bare hands. Katie stopped realizing she was walking into a very serious conversation.

"Ok." Katie says and they both turn to her. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Steve says looking over to Tony as if daring him to disagree. "Everything is fine." Steve pulls a smile to his face and looks over to Katie. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." Katie says turning to Tony. "Tony, you alright?" he doesn't say anything before dropping the ax and turning and walking off. Katie begins to go over to him, but Steve takes a step forward to stop her.

"Maybe you should just give him a minute." Steve says.

"That's not how we work." Katie replies before walking around the man after Tony, who was walking way faster than necessary. They were getting a good distance from the house toward the barn. "Will you stop, I can't walk that fast!" Tony suddenly stopped but he didn't turn to her. "What's happening?"

"You don't see it?" Tony asked finally turning to her. "I knew this was going to happen." he looks over to the house in the distance. "It's why—" he turns back to her. "It's why he never let me design the nursery. He knew he was going to take you away."

"Take me away. Tony I'm right here."

"No you're not. You're gone. You left and I knew it was going to happen. Marrying Clint and then the baby, it was only a matter of time before you were gone. Again."

"What was supposed to happen?" Katie asked taking a steps forward. "Was I supposed stay locked in your basement and working on the suits." she shook her head as she placed herself in front of him. "Tony, you're getting married soon and one day you're going to have a baby. That's life. It moves forward."

"And apart apparently." Tony replies walking around back to the house and Katie spins around.

"That's not fair!" Katie called after him, but he didn't stop walking. Katie hears something from behind her and turns toward the barn. "Tony, wait! I think there's something in there." Tony stops and turns back to see her looking over to the barn before taking a step toward it. He shakes his head before running back and grabbing her arm.

"That's smart. Pregnant lady goes to check out strange sound." Tony says walking around her toward the barn and Katie follows behind him. "Would you just wait—" he stops once they're in the barn. "Is that a tractor? Oh, looks like you're going to be a farmer's wife. Aren't you going to have fun."

"Bite me." Katie mutters walking over to the tractor.

"Some things never change." a new voice speak, startling Katie who turns to see Nick Fury walk from the shadows. Her eyes looks to him for a moment before she turns and heads for the door. "I'm sorry."

"Don't you dare apologize to me!" Katie snapped angrily to him with a pointed finger.

"Hey." Tony says turning toward her. "Calm, right?" Katie takes a deep breath and nods before looking over to the man again. "Let me guess, Maria Hill called you. Was she ever not working for you?"

"Artificial Intelligence. You never even hesistated" Fury says walking over to the man, and casting a glance toward Katie. "And you let him. I thought you were the one who would pull the reigns with his crazy ideas."

"I'm sorry I was too busy preparing to be the a mother to the child growing inside of me then trying to dictate the actions of a grown man. I'm leaving now." Katie says before turning and storming toward the house. Clint had just walked around the porch with Mason when he spotted Katie who didn't look happy at all.

"Hey. What happened?" Clint asked meeting her at the door, just as she rushed inside searching around before finding Maria in the kitchen with Steve.

"We don't know what it means yet and until we do—" Steve says before noticing Maria's eyes looking behind him, when he turns to see Katie and Clint.

"You had no right!" Katie says taking steps toward the woman, only for Clint to stop her. "He doesn't get to just come here like nothing happened."

"Right now we need someone who can strategize in tough situations. Right now we're in the middle an astronomical situation and no one here knows what moves need to be made."

"That's enough!" Clint snaps moving to stand in front of Katie. "You need to step away now and calm down." Katie growls angrily before turning and stalking up the stairs before Clint turned to Maria.

"You know I'm right." she says.

"I do know you're right, but you do not invite anyone here without telling me." Clint says seriously as he takes a step forward. " Do you understand?" Maria bites her tongue, but nods before the man turns to Steve. "And you should watch what you say now that she's here."

"I'm sorry, but this isn't going to go away. She's apart of this no matter how much you wish she wasn't. We should be finding out why."

"Maybe, but we're not. We had a deal. We fix this and she doesn't get involved. It's what is safe for her and what is safe for our baby and captain that is something you do not want to be threatening right now." Clint didn't give him a chance to say anything because in all honesty, there was nothing else really to say. He simply turned and walked away, going to make sure Katie was alright. Clint hurried up the stairs, passing Matthew.

"Hey, is there—" Clint had come and gone much to Matthew's displeasure "Food?" He just continued down the stairs looking for the others, when he happened upon a conversation in the kitchen.

"Because no one seems interested in finding out why he wants her." Steve said before once again noticing Maria's eyes looking over his shoulder. "Please don't tell me it's her."

"It's not her." Maria replied and Steve finally turned to see Matthew. "Agent Black, I guess now is when you get brought in."

"Good," Matthew said walking in to the kitchen. "But first, is there food?"

When Clint walked into their bedroom, he didn't see her right away, but he did hear the shower running. He walked into the bathroom, and heard her muttering to herself on the other side of the shower curtain.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." she said with a little bit of hostility in her voice. "I'm calm."

"You don't sound calm." Clint replied leaning against the sink and folding his arms over his chest.

"He lied to me. He didn't just hide secrets, but he blatantly lied. I asked him about my mother, and he told me she was dead to my face when he knew he had her hidden away in some house in the middle of nowhere."

"Nick Fury didn't tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" Clint asked sarcastically. "You're kidding!" he pulled off his shirt and kicked off his pants and walked over to pull open the shower and stepping inside.

"You're making fun of me?" Katie asked as Clint slid his arms around her waist.

"I am making fun of you." Clint replied pulling her lips to his. "Right now we're not going to worry about secrets of the past. The only thing we're going to worry about is right here."

"You've already showered."

"I know." Clint replied bringing his lips to hers.

It was discovered that night that Maria Hill was actually a pretty good cook that no one was ever supposed to expect to happen again. She was placing the food on the dining room table when Clint walked inside.

"Smells good." he said and she looked over to him.

"Yeah, well I figured we were going to have to eat at some point, and I don't trust any of you with pots and pans." Maria replied looking behind him. "Where is she?"

"Upstairs getting dressed." Clint replied when the front door opened and in walked Tony, and right behind him was Nick Fury right behind him. Clint founding himself standing a bit straighter in the man's presence as he walked over. "It's been a long time sir."

"That it has." Fury replied letting his eyes scan over the house. "Nice set up you have here. I'm glad some good came out of sending one of my best agents to do something as menial as follow a techie as you called her."

"Yeah, it did." Clint replied before taking a step closer to the man. "Just so you're aware for future reference, the next time you want to come to my house, it's me you should get the ok from, not Hill."

"Of course." The director says letting his eyes go to the team that moving toward the dining room to take a seat.

"She's upstairs, and will be down soon. I talked her into giving this a shot, but if it doesn't work, then you leave, alright?"

"That's fair." the man said and that's when Clint moved aside to let the man in. The director walked over to greet the rest of the team as Clint's eyes went to the stairs just as Katie came walking down the stairs wearing a yellow and white sundress that stopped right above her knees. A smile graced his face as he watched his barefoot wife walk toward him.

"What are you smiling at?" she asked when his hand reached around her waist to help her down the rest of the stairs.

"There are just some moments I wonder how I got so lucky. This was just one of those moments." Clint replied as Katie came around to see the others already seated at the table. Her eyes caught sight of Fury who sat beside Maria, the pair were whispering to each others already started digging into the food. "You sure you can handle this?" Katie turned back to Clint with a slight smile and just nodded. "Alright, lets dig in before Steve eats everything."

Dinner was oddly normal. The name Ultron hadn't even been spoken since they began eating and Katie was starting to believe that she was the reason for that. Soon everyone had finished eating and split off amongnst themselves. Katie still sat at the table, her eyes to Fury and her father who stood off to themselves far away from the others.

"You're not telling me something." Katie said suddenly and Clint looked over to her in confusion. She met his eyes. "I know that Wakanda didn't go well and I know Ultron is still functioning and threatening to cause more havoc, but there's something else." she looked around at the others, always catching at least one of them looking over to her. "Something everyone in this room knows except for me." Clint glanced over to Natasha who still sat across from them, before turning to Katie.

"Fine." Natasha says ignoring the glare Clint was sending her. "There is something. Something no one here will tell you because you made the choice to go through with the rest of this pregnancy despite the risks. You may not like it, but it doesn't change anything."

"I despise your bluntness." Katie muttered turning to her husband. "I need to leave now so you all can finally have that strategy meeting everyone's been waiting for." she leaned forward to place a kiss to Clint's cheek. "I should turn in." Katie stood to her feet and Clint did the same.

"Kat, this will be over soon and then we can just focus on us." Clint said and Katie just nodded before walking toward the steps.

"Goodnight everyone." Katie says stopping to look to everyone. "Looks like I have to miss all the fun once again. Well good luck."

"Katie—" Steve said suddenly stopping the woman.

"Steve." Clint says his voice full of warning, as he take a couple of steps forward. "Don't." Steve glances over to him, before turning back to Katie who stands confused.

"Why don't I come with you." Cynthia says walking over to Katie who looks at the woman for a moment before looking back to Steve.

"Alright." Katie replies finally turning and walking up the stairs, Cynthia right behind her.

"What the hell was that?" Clint says angrily walking over to Steve, but Fury moves to block him.

"I think now is when we talk about what happened." Nick says looking between the two men. "Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time."

Katie walked into her bedroom, her eyes instantly searching. Cynthia trailed behind her, closing the door behind them.

"What are you looking for?" Cynthia asked as Katie walked in the closet and turned on a light. Katie's eyes searched for a moment, before seeing a box. Standing on the tips of her toes, Katie was able to slide the box into her hands. Once opened she plucked the laptop from inside and brought it over to her bed. "I think if your husband hid that, then he probably doesn't want you to have it."

"He doesn't, but I keep remembering something Ultron said to me." Katie says lifting opened the computer. "He said he called my name when he killed him."

"Who called your name?" Cynthia asked walking over and sitting beside her daughter on the bed.

"I think he was talking about JARVIS." Katie says her fingers beginning to move rapidly across the keys. "It's how he said it though. Like he didn't understand it."

"What are you doing?"

"Ultron is supposed to be this more advance tech, more than JARVIS, and I think killing him was supposed to show that superiority, but I think there was still apart of JARVIS Ultron didn't understand."

"I'm still confused, what's are you trying to do?"

"I'm trying to understand the mind of a psychotic robot." Katie replied, not even parting her eyes from the computer screen.

The team stood in a thought filled silence when the revelation that Ultron trying to create a body for himself, and the implications behind it. They only knew of one person who would be able to make it happen for him.

"I just tried Helen." Bruce said walking back into the room. "Nothing."

"Alright, we need to move out." Steve said looking to the others. "If Ultron wants a body, then we need to do everything possible to make sure that doesn't happen. Let's suit up." and with that everyone was in motion. Everyone that is, except for Clint who stood with his arms over his chest, staring down to the flames in the fireplace. "Clint—" Steve had moved to stand beside the man who still hadn't added any input into the plan.

"We didn't talk about it." Clint says turning to the man and then to the others who stood watching him. "Are we going to ignore this?"

"We know Ultron's endgame now. Everything else was meant to be a distraction, it was meant to try to divide us, but we're not going to let that happen." Steve said placing a hand on Clint's shoulder. "We can stop him, we just have to try." Clint looked at the man for a moment, before looking over to Martin.

"I already know my place in this son." Martin says with a nod. "My number one mission has always been to keep those two women upstairs safe, and that's what I will continue to do." Clint sends the man a nod before turning back to Steve.

"I'll be ready in ten." and with that everyone parted. Clint found his wife, and Cynthia both engrossed in something on the laptop he could've sworn he had hid. "What are you doing?" he walked over to see what she was looking at. "What this?"

"NEXUS mainframe." Katie says still typing. "They're this—"

"The world internet hub in Oslo." Clint says reaching forward and once again taking the laptop. "I know what it is. I also know it involves Ultron at the moment, and if I'm not mistaken, you're supposed to be as far away from that as possible."

"Clint she has this idea, that—"

"Could you give me and my wife a moment please." Clint says harshly to Cynthia who looked slightly offended, but stood and left the pair. "Kat—"

"I'm just trying to understand what's going on in his mind. Maybe then—"

"Kat, it's a crazy robot. Something Stark and Banner cooked up in a lab with the help of Loki's scepter. There is no understanding it, there's destroying it, which we maybe able to do."

"What?" Katie asks standing to her feet. "What's happening?" Clint doesn't say anything, but instead heads to the closet where he grabs his gear. "Are you not going to tell me?"

"I wasn't planning on it." Clint replies unbuttoning his shirt. "The only thing I plan on doing now is finding Ultron before he makes himself a real boy, blowing him to pieces and getting back home to my wife before our baby is born."

"Real boy?" Katie mutters before her eyes widen. "He trying to create a human body for himself?" Clint growls mostly at himself for revealing too much. "Why would he do that? He seems to think humans are pathetic wastes of space. Why would he—" she looks back to Clint with a furrowed brow. "Unless he wants to be better. What does that do?"

"Kat, will you just stop!" Clint snapped before taking a deep breath and walking over to her. "I'm sorry, I just, I don't know how to help you if you won't let this go. This isn't your fight." Clint began pulling off his shirt before walking back to the closet. "Look at it this way. You didn't want to be apart of this team in the first place. Maybe this is your chance to get your wish." Katie wonders if he knows how hurtful those words were before they came out of his mouth. When she doesn't reply, Clint walks back out to see the stunned look on her face and he immediately regrets what he said. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Yeah you did." Katie replies turning and walking from the room. She walks until she ends up outside on the backyard porch. She's hit with a cold breeze that makes her tighten her arms around herself.

"I know that look." came a voice from behind her. Katie didn't turn to him, because she didn't need to. "That's the same look you used to get when I wouldn't let you have sleepovers at your friend's houses." Katie remains silent, because at the moment a conversation with Martin Chambers is something she would rather not have. "He's worried about you. We all are. You chose a very dangerous route kid and now everyone is just trying to make sure you get to the end without any problems." still not a word passed her lips and Martin sighed walking over to stand at on the other end of the stairs where he looks out into the dark farm. "You know this place sort of reminds me of our place."

"Really?" Katie finally says turning to him. "Are we doing that now? Going down memory lane in hopes that I will forgive the fact that you abandoned me."

"We wanted you to have a normal life."

"And all I wanted was you." Katie replied turning away from him with a shake of her head. "I didn't care what kind of life I had as long as you were there. You were my father, you were supposed to protect me forever and you didn't do that."

"You're right." the man replied with a nod. "I was supposed to protect you, but in the case that I couldn't, I made sure you could protect yourself and from the looks of it, I would say it worked. You're here darling, you made it this far." Katie heard movement coming from inside the house and turned to see everyone seeming to be getting ready to leave.

"There's a fight happening that I believe wholeheartedly should be fought and yet I don't even get a chance." Katie said glancing over to the man. "It doesn't feel right. You did that to me."

"We're fighters. Always have, always will be. They're fighting their battle and you're fighting yours." Martin replies pointing to her stomach. "Right in there. That's the fight that needs your focus and attention because I would very much like to one day meet my first grandchild."

"There you are." Matthew said walking out to Katie. He glanced over to Martin, before turning back to his sister. "Looks like I'm sticking it out here with you."

"I would've thought Jack would be demanding your return to deal with all this."

"Well he seems to think if I'm here, I can be ahead of the curve." Matthew replied with a shrug, before looking into the house."I have to say I am glad I'm sticking here with you instead of going with them. I'm still not sure how my experience would help in fighting evil robots."

"You never know until you try." Martin says before walking back into the house.

Soon everyone was packed up and ready to leave. Katie stood in her living room saying her goodbyes to her team.

"You know I think I'm actually going to miss your voice in my head. It was oddly reassuring knowing you were there to have our backs." Steve said and Katie gave him a smile before pulling him into a hug."Get some rest and think really hard about the name Steve or even Stephanie." Katie laughed as the man pulled away, giving her a wave before walking out the door. Natasha walked over next, silently staring at her for a moment, before reaching out and placing her hand on Katie's belly.

"Take care of whoever is in there." Natasha says looking up to Katie who gives the woman a nod.

"Make sure he comes back to me." Katie replies to which Natasha also nods before turning and walking out the door. Katie turns to see Tony who is talking on his phone as he heads for the door, and for a moment she thinks he's actually going to leave without saying anything to her. He stops though, pulls the phone from his ear before walking over to her. "Do not die Iron Ass." a small, barely there smile comes to his face as he slightly nods before turning and leaving. When she turns she sees Clint speaking with her father and Matthew, before turning and walking over to her.

"Franklin's number is on speed dial. Your dad and brother both know the quickest routes to the hospital. If you feel anything strange, you—" Katie throws her arms around the man's neck before pulling his lips to hers in a heated, passionate kiss that made the world around them disappear for just a few moments. When they pulled back, Clint dropped his forehead against hers with his eyes closed trying to convince himself at this point to walk out the door.

"Think of names." Katie whispers and he opens his eyes with a smile. "We still need to make a decision." she dropped her head onto his chest and his arms tightened around her. "So come back so we can finally name this kid because baby bird is not sounding half bad at this point."

"Baby Bird Barton." Clint whispers in her head. "It does have a mother goose feel to it, don't you think?" he placed another kiss to the soft skin of her cheek before finally pulling away, and kneeling in front of her stomach. "Alright son-"

"or daughter."

"Or daughter." Clint says with his hands on her stomach. "Your daddy has to leave and I would very much appreciate if you stayed in there until I got back. I don't want to miss meeting you kid." he places a few kisses to her stomach before standing to his feet. "I love you Mrs. Barton."

"I love you Mr. Barton." Katie replied hoping how nervous she was feeling about all of this wasn't showing on her face. One more kiss and then he's out the door. Katie follows behind him, staying on the porch as she watches him walk to the quinjet. "Hey Bart!" she calls and he stops and turns to her. "Bring back ice cream, there's none here!"

"Yes ma'am!" Clint says with a laugh before finally stepping onto the jet. Katie stands there and watches as it lifts into the sky and flies away.

"I'm supposed to be gone, I know." Katie rolls her eyes at the voice, but looks over to see Nick standing at the base of the porch stairs. "But for the life of me I just can't leave without hearing whatever thoughts you have on this."

"Thoughts? You didn't hear? This isn't my fight." Katie replied.

"Since when has that stopped you?" Fury replied and he noticed the smirk on her face.

"He's more human then they realize." Katie said glancing up to the sky. "His decisions are irrational, and psychotic, but they're based off of emotions and some sort of thought process."

"What are you saying?"

"You can't beat an unknown enemy." Katie replied, her father's words seeming to make so much sense in this moment.

"I told him that you know." Fury said and Katie glanced over to him.

"Are you going ghost again?"

"Nah, I think me, Hill and Mason are going to come at this thing at another angle." Fury said before giving the woman a nod. "Just as soon as I get that bastard to cut his hair." she heard him mutter as he turned and headed for their car. Once they were gone, Katie was left there on her own, her eyes to the sky praying to whoever was listening that they all returned. When she stepped into the house, she found Martin, Cynthia and Matthew huddled together in whispered voices and at this point she just didn't even care what it was about. They all looked over to her and she just waved them.

"I'm going to bed." she said before climbing the steps to her bedroom.

That night, sleep didn't find Katie so easily as she wished it would, but she isn't surprised. Her thoughts are filled with her friends and her husband who are off fighting a very difficult fight. It was ridiculously late, when she heard her bedroom door squeak open and heavy footsteps walk into her room.

"Matt, I'm fine." Katie says her back to him as she tries to sleep. "Go away." the footsteps moved closer and Katie sighed turning over only to see that it wasn't Matthew standing above her bed.

"Hello Katherine. I don't think we've been formally introduced."

"Don't think we have to be." Katie replied glancing over to her door. "I only know one crazy artificial intelligent robot. Why are you here?" The robot bends over, bringing his face closer to hers, only for Katie to back away as far as she can.

"They didn't tell you. I don't know why I'm surprised. It always blows up in their faces when they try to control the outcome." his eyes look down to her stomach, and Katie brings a protective hand over her belly.

"Why are you here?" Katie asks once again and his eyes once again looks up to meet hers.

"I want to see what happens when I distract them with something shiny." Ultron says just as two bots from the Iron Legion walk into her room. "And you're sparkling kitten."


	43. Chapter 43

There was this tightness in Clint's chest ever since he walked out the door of his house. He felt nervous about leaving again, especially when things were so unpredictable with Katie and the baby. At the moment he wanted to be with her, he wanted to see for himself that she was alright, but he couldn't. At the moment he was searching for his partner who had disappeared after their latest round with Ultron. It wasn't a complete loss. They got the psycho's intended body and were going to destroy it. Clint wasn't as worried about Nat as the others, because he knew her. Knew how capable she was in a tough situation. He knew where ever she was, she'd find a way out.

Natasha was sore all over. That was the first thought that crossed her mind as the world seemed to seep back into her. She let out a groan as her eyes fluttered open.

"I wasn't sure you'd wake up." came the familiar robotic voice, and Natasha soon sobered up becoming aware of the room. Her eyes went to Ultron whose hands were inside of another robot "I hoped you would, I wanted to show you. The other one is still asleep." His eyes went to something behind her and Natasha turned and she felt herself stop breathing at the sight of Katie laying there, her eyes closed. "I think a lot about the meteors, the purity of them. "Boom!", the end, start again." Natasha was barely listening as she crawled over to Katie, grabbing the woman's wrist an finding relief in the pulse she felt. She drops an ear to Katie's stomach and finally breathes when she feels a slight kick from the baby. "I was meant to be new. I was meant to be beautiful." Natasha lifted her eyes as she heard metal footsteps nearing them. "The world would've looked to the sky and seen hope, seen mercy. Instead they'll look up in horror because of you. You've wounded me. I give you full marks for that. But, like the man said, "What doesn't kill me..." suddenly another robot comes from behind him and just rips him apart. Natasha's eyes widen as she slide back as far as possible, keeping Katie behind her when she sees that it's Ultron, only different, bigger. "...just makes me stronger!" He reaches forward and pulls the door to a cage trapping them inside before turning and walking away. The moment he does, Natasha turns back to Katie.

"Hey, you gotta wake up." Natasha whispers trying to shake her shoulders slightly. She looks over her shoulder to the robots who seemed to be building more of themselves before turning back to Katie. "Sparrow, you have to wake up now." her eyes scanned the small cage, when she noticed something. She tilted her head slightly as she subtly crawled over to see that it really was an old radio. An idea suddenly struck her.

Clint held the headphones to his ear searching for the message he knew Natasha would be sending. It was their way when they got separated. He was switching between frequencies when he caught something. He stopped and listened intently to the message that played. A smiled tugged at his lips when he realized that it was Natasha. She was with Ultron and she was giving him their location. He was entering the coordinates as more of the message played. Clint listened and he felt his heart drop to his stomach. He headphones fell from his hands when he heard that somehow Ultron had Katie. Clint quickly padded his pockets in search of his cellphone, only to realize that he didn't have it.

"Shit! he snapped angrily standing to his feet in search of a phone. The moment he found one, he quickly dialed Matthew's number, only for it to go straight to voice mail. He tried Martin, and even the house's phone, and no answer at all. Clint angrily threw the phone into the wall smashing it to pieces.

Clint stormed in search of the others, when he heard something strange coming from the lab that was above him. When he lifted his head, he was surprised to see him. The inhuman that had got him shot, standing right above his head. Clint quickly grabbed his gun and aimed it right up to the man who was oblivious. After one deep breath, Clint pulled the trigger shattering the glass causing the man to fall through.

"What?" Clint says staring down to the man is gun still held firmly in his hands. "You didn't see that coming."

Natasha had soon moved Katie's head to rest in her lap as she continued to try to coax her to wake up. She lifted her head where she saw Ultron still working on something.

"Why is she here!" Natasha finally asked. "Why her?!" A dry chuckle escapes the AI as he glances over his shoulder to her. Natasha stare back in confusion not sure what was so funny about her question.

"When I was first created, my first point of contact was with Just a rather very intelligent system. That system didn't have half the capabilities I had. He was tied up in strings of code all except for one thing." Ultron turned to her fully. "For some reason the beautiful Katherine Barton had slipped into a part of the system that even I couldn't explain." his eyes dropped to Katie. "I think he loved her, which should be beyond his capabilities and I want to know why and so she is necessary." And with that the AI turned and walked from the room.

Natasha dropped her eyes back to Katie who she was seriously starting to worry since she hadn't woken up yet. There was another firm kick underneath her hand that she held above the woman's stomach that seemed to be her only hope.

"You keep your mama here, alright?" Natasha muttered.

Clint wasn't completely sure of the events that past after finding out the inhuman they'd been after were currently in the tower. Thor came and used his hammer, there was a lightening strike and suddenly there's this purple naked guy floating in front of the window. Soon he stood with them now clothed similarly to Thor, attempting to convince them that he is nothing like the AI and only wants to help stop him.

"Maybe I am a monster. I don't think I'd know if I were one. I'm not what you are. And not what you intended. So there may be no way to make you trust me." The purple man, Vision he called himself, did the one thing no one expected, and no one even believed. He picked up Thor's hammer and handed it to him. "But we need to go." After the shock finally passed, Steve cleared his throat.

"Three minutes. Get what you need." he said and everyone began moving. Everyone except for Clint who still seemed so far off from the conversation that was happening around him. His head was on his wife whose safety was in question at the moment. Vision walked over to stand in front of the man, and everyone stopped as well.

"Barton?" Steve said walking over and it was as if Clint didn't even hear him. "What's wrong?"

"His wife." said Wanda suddenly and everyone's ears perked up a little more. "Ultron has his wife."

"What!" Tony snapped angrily walking over to where Wanda and Pietro stood. "When did this happen?"

"Last night, we didn't-"

"Think it was important to tell us your ex evil robot friend now has my friend!" Tony practically growled before turning to the to others. "Where—what happened to Matthew, her dad?" They all looked over to Clint who was still to far in his head to even reply.

"If Ultron and the league showed up then they wouldn't be able to fight them off. We should call Hill, see what's left of that house." Steve said looking over to Clint, before looking to Vision who was staring at the man as well. "Would Ultron hurt her?"

"He doesn't intend to." Vision spoke with a tilted head staring at Clint as if intrigued by something.

"Then what is his intention?" Tony asked walking over. "What is this about?"

"He himself is not sure." Vision replied before placing a hand on Clint's shoulder causing the archer to meet his eyes. "I can assure you nothing will happen to your wife and child."

"How can you promise that?" Clint asked and it seemed to be an amusing question as a smile came to the being's lips.

"Because I will make sure of it." he said simply.

"Why would you do that?" Steve asked.

"Because she's the reason I'm here." he finally said before walking off, leaving the others with his confusing words.

"Hey." Steve says placing a hand on Clint's shoulder. "She's with Natasha." Clint nodded because he's partner was a lot of things, but he knew just how much she truly cared for Katie. He trusted her to protect his family. Clint looked over to the captain and nodded. "We're going to get her back."

Natasha's eyes had fluttered closed for just the briefest of moments, when she heard a gasp. Her eyes flicked open and she looked down to see Katie staring right back up to her.

"What's happening?" Katie whispered sitting up and realizing they were in a cage. "Why are you here? Is Bart here? Is he alright?"

"Hey, calm down." Natasha replied placing her hands on the woman's shoulders. "The fight didn't go completely as planned, but we got Ultron's body. I was brought here, but the others got out safely and with any luck they heard my message from that and should be here soon." Katie nodded, her hand mindlessly rubbing her stomach as she looks over to old radio. "How do you feel?"

"Like I don't want to be trapped in a cage." Katie says turning to the empty room they were in. She stood to her feet and walked over to the door to feel the lock.

"Don't bother, I already tried picking it." Natasha said standing to her feet.

"Well there you go assuming that because you have tried and failed, so will I" Katie muttered sliding her fingers along the lock. She walked over to the old radio, looking at the insides that were showing before picking out three wires.

"What are you doing?" Natasha asked as she watched the woman twist the wires.

"It's simple, I'm going to—" the wires dropped from Katie's hand, and the woman doubled over, her hands wrapping around her belly as a pained moan escapes her throat. Natasha was at her side quickly, wrapping an arm around her to keep her steady until suddenly it was over.

"What the hell was that?" Natasha asked and Katie lifted her head to the woman with wide eyes. "No, please don't tell me—" Natasha shook her head as she looked to the woman's stomach. "Now? Of all the times in the world, that kid chooses now to make it's debut?"

"Natasha we have to get out of here." Katie says and Natasha just nods, before helping the woman to sit before going over to pick up the wire.

"Now what were you going to do with these?" the woman asked.

Clint tried to focus, he tried to get his head into the fight, but he was packing his things when he found a picture of him and Katie that they'd taken when they had disappeared for a year. He loved this picture of her, because the smile she wore was so carefree and they looked so happy. They were really happy there.

"This happens way too much doesn't it?" a voice said from behind him and Clint sighed because it was the man he really didn't care for. "I mean even when my kitten isn't even in the fight she some how manages to get smack dab in the middle of the fight."

"Tony, could we not do this?" Clint asked sliding the picture into kevlar, right above his heart where it always went.

"I care about her. You know that right?" Tony asked and Clint lifted his head and turned back to the man. "It's just sometimes I don't think you know that. So when you tell her she shouldn't spend time with me, or you build a house in the middle of nowhere that's also hundreds of miles from me, you know that hurts like a bitch."

"Tony, you created a monster that nearly killed my wife." Clint said plainly. "Your tower, that was supposed to keep her safe, has been infiltrated which also almost cost her life." Clint stood to his feet and turned to the man. "I know you care about her and I'm almost one hundred percent sure you have some other kind of feelings for her, but you're toxic."

"So that's it, you think-"

"No, I know Tony!" Clint snapped angrily. "But that isn't it. It's just time. We need this. After everything she's been through, after everything I've been through, I think we deserve just a little bit of normal. This is happening, so you can mope around about it, and you can give her the silent treatment, but in the end it's still happening." And with that Clint picked up his gear and walked around the man.

When everyone was ready to go, Thor went to retrieve Vision who he found staring out the window once again.

"We are ready to leave." Thor said walking up beside the man.

"It wasn't just me you saw." Vision spoke not breaking away from the scene in front of him. "You saw her."

"I saw an impossibility."

"You saw me." Vision said turning back to the man. "Am I not an impossibility?" Thor looked to the being letting out a deep sigh before turning to the window as well. "The dots connecting are finally making sense."

"No, they're not." Thor replied before turning and walking out.

Clint sat behind the wheel of the quinjet, still trying to focus on the mission. He had to believe the Katie and the baby were still safe and that this Vision guy was right when he said Ultron wouldn't hurt them. It didn't stop the nervousness swirling around inside of him.

"Hey." Steve said placing a hand on Clint's shoulders. "How we doing?"

"We should be there soon." Clint replied his eyes straight ahead. Steve noticed the tenseness in the man's shoulder and took the seat beside him.

"How are you doing?" Steve asked and Clint glanced over to him for a second. "I can only imagine how hard this must be for you. I'm actually surprised you're not bouncing off the walls right now."

"That won't help them." Clint says his hands clenching the wheel. "I want to scream and yell, and hit something, but that won't help them."

"I'm almost afraid to suggest this." Steve said and Clint looks over to the man in confusion. "Dr. Banner can be in this fight. Not with so many civilians and we're going to need your eyes out there-"

"Are you asking me to let Bruce save my wife while I fight this battle?" Clint asked with a shake of his head. "My head is about to explode right now because I can't see her and I keep replaying Franklin's words in my head about stress and how she could die. And you're telling me that instead of finding her and getting her to safety, you want me-"

"I want you to save lives. That's the mission."

"She's my mission!" Clint snapped angrily turning away from the man, and taking a deep breath to calm himself.

"Look at this way, with Katie's health issues, who would you rather be with her?" Steve asked and Clint shook his head slightly. "I know you want to be there for her and you want to make sure she's alright, but in the case that she isn't, what good would you be to her. Bruce can help her and he can get her to safety until this is all over." Clint didn't say anything, but Steve could see the anger the man still held in his eyes. "Barton-"

"Fine, but Captain-" Clint turned his eyes to the man, just so he could see how serious he was. "If I feel that my family is in serious danger, then they will be my first priority, do you understand?"

"Of course." Steve replied with a firm nod.

Katie sat staring over to Natasha who was trying and failing at picking the lock to their cell. She wanted to go over and help, but whenever she tried, Natasha just told her to stay seated.

"Did he tell you why I'm here?" Katie asked suddenly and Natasha stopped what she was doing and glanced over to the woman. "Like, why the hell am I here?"

"I don't know." Natasha replied with a shake of her head. "Clint thought bringing you to the farmhouse would be a good hide out for you, but he must've tracked us or-"

"Wait, Clint knew he wanted me?" Katie asked and Natasha let out a sigh. "Natasha?" Natasha finally gave up and tossed the wires before walking over and sitting beside Katie.

"When Ultron killed Strucker, he left a message. He wrote the word "Peace" on the wall in Strucker's blood." Natasha said turning to Katie. "Next to the word he drew a bird. Guess what bird?"

"A sparrow." Katie replied looking over to the woman who nodded.

"We didn't know what it meant, if it meant anything at all, but it made us nervous." Natasha shook her head at the thought. "Who were we kidding? This is you we're talking about. We should've put you in some underground bunker in the middle of nowhere."

"Yeah, that would've—shit!" Katie closed her eyes as another wave of pain struck her in that moment.

"Just breathe, alright. Um, didn't you and Clint do those lamaze classes?" Natasha asked rubbing circles on the woman's back.

"Yeah, but I kind of flipped out when they showed a birthing video, and we kind of missed half the class." Katie replied still trying to breathe through the pain. "I can't do this Natasha. I can't have my baby in some cage in—" she looked around just realizing she had no idea where she was. "I don't even knew where I am right now."

"We're in Sokovia." Natasha said. "And you're not going to have your baby here, we're going to find a way—" There was a loud crash and both women looked up. Natasha stood to her feet and moved to stand in front of Katie.

"Natasha!" a familiar voice called.

"Is that Bruce?" Katie asked and soon her question was answered when the man suddenly appeared.

"Hey." Bruce said running over, looking between both women. "Are you guys alright?"

"Well if you didn't show up when you did, there were probably going to be three of us in here." Natasha said and Bruce stared in confusion, before looking to Katie who was sitting on the floor.

"Is she—"

"In labor? Why yes she is doc. Please tell me you found a key back there?"

"Yeah, I did." Bruce replies revealing the gun in his hand. Natasha took a step back as the man aimed the gun at the door, blasting it open. Once the door was opened, Bruce handed the gun to Natasha before rushing over to kneel beside Katie. "How close are the contractions?"

"Well I would say—" Katie looks down to her watchless wrist. "I have no fucking idea!" she snapped angrily before looking back up to his eyes and immediately feeling guilty. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. "

"It's fine." Bruce replies looking over to Natasha.

"About an hour." Natasha replied and Bruce nodded before turning to Katie. "There hasn't been any leaking, so that's good right?"

"Yeah, if her water hasn't broken yet then there's a chance we could still do this in a hospital." Bruce said turning to Katie who nodded.

"Hospital's are good. They have drugs that can make this hurt less right?"

"Yeah, let's hope we can make it. "Bruce replies. "Alright, we're going to stand up." he wrapped and arm around Katie's back and carefully lifted her to her feet.

"Alright so what's the play here?" Natasha asked and Bruce looked over to her.

"I'm here to get you two to safety." Bruce said looking back down to Katie who he could feel slightly shaking.

"Job's not finished."

"We could help with the evacuation, but I can't be in a fight near civilians. And you've done plenty. Our fight is over."

"So what? We just disappear?"

The room fell into a silence as that question sat in the air. Katie looked up between the two seeing something she probably should've noticed before now.

"Wait." Katie finally says. "Are you two like a thing?" Both Bruce and Natasha choose to ignore her. "It won't work. Running now. Trust me when I say that running in the middle of a fight does not bode well for your conscious." They hear the explosions and gun fire from outside and they all realize running doesn't even seem possible. "For you guys anyway. There's a baby trying to get out of me right now and I would very much not like that to happen here."

"Alright, come on." Bruce says as he keeps an arm around Katie as they walk.

Robots were everywhere. Clint kept grabbing arrows and shooting. Tossing himself around trying to avoid being killed. He didn't mind his backup though. The inhuman chick with the freak powers was someone he wouldn't mind watching his back. She'd just taken down another wave practically by herself. Clint stood to his feet looking around to see that they were clear. He was about to inform the rest of the team when he heard another voice.

_"Hey, I found them." Bruce spoke. "And I need a way out of this city as soon as possible."_

"We're still trying to figure that out doctor!" Steve called clearly still in the middle of fighting.

 _"Well we should figure it out soon because a new team member is going to be here soon."_ Clint felt his heart race in his chest when he heard the doctor's words.

_"Just breathe Katie."_

"Where are you?" Clint asked standing up straight, glancing in every direction for the quickest routes.

Bruce kept a firm grasp around Katie as they walked through the chaotic streets of Sokovia. Natasha walked ahead, gun held firmly in her hands.

"We're—" Bruce stopped before suddenly above them appeared more of Ultron's new league of robots. Suddenly they began shooting and chaos ensued as civilians screamed and ran through the streets. "We're under attacked!" Bruce tried his best to pull Katie to cover. Trying to sift through the crowds while holding on to Katie seemed to be an impossible task and before he knew it had happened, they had been separated.

 _"Doc, what's happening? Where are you guys?_ " Bruce spun around in hopes of seeing Katie, but when the streets had cleared the only person staring back at him was Natasha. The doctor's breaths quicken and Natasha quickly ran over seeing the beginnings of something the man did not want to happen.

"Bruce," Natasha started and Bruce eyes shot up to her. "Are you going to turn green?"

"I can't, she needs—" the man's eyes closed because he could feel it happening.

"Right now this city needs the other guy." Natasha said placing a hand on the side of the man's cheek locking eyes with the man.

Katie had stumbled inside of a nearby building, never stopping to get away from the crowds. She didn't expect to get separated from Bruce and Natasha. She peeked out side of a window, grabbing hold of the wall when she felt everything moving. She didn't know if it was an earthquake or what but it hadn't stopped.

"Ok, baby, mommy is going to find us a way out of here." Katie stood from the wall, stepping out into the streets that were eerily bare. "Your daddy is here somewhere. We just have to find him and you need to stay in there alright." Her steps weren't as quick as she wished they were in this situation, but she kept moving keeping her eyes open for someone. She suddenly heard movement from behind her and she stopped and turned, but there was no one there.

"Well, it looks like a kitten has lost her way home." a voice spoke and Katie felt a chill run down her spine. "Of all the streets in all Sokovia, you just happen to walk down mine." Katie slowly turned around and there he was. Ultron and he looked bigger than before. "You know-"

"You like to talk." Katie interrupted. "Something else you inherited from your creator." she could've sworn she heard him growl under his breath as he took more steps toward her.

"I am nothing like Stark and you would benefit very much from not making that comparison again."

"Why? Are you going to kill me? Is that why you took me from my home and brought me all the way to this city?"

"No." he said stepping right in front of her, just a tab bit impressed that she doesn't coward back. "You're here because the world is simple. The people that inhabit it are idiots which is a very bad combination. You're here dear kitten because for some reason you stand out from the pack-" he bent down bringing his face near hers as if to study her closer. "And I want to know why."

"That is a question you shall not have the answer to." another voice spoke and both Katie and Ultron looked to see the purple man dressed fairly similar to Thor. His eyes looked to her with a slight smile. "Hello Katie?"

"JARVIS?" Katie said noting just how familiar his voice sounded.

"No, I am Vision and you shall leave now." he said and before Katie could even think up a reply a grey haired, young man sped in front of her. She looked at him for a moment, before her eyes widened in realization of who he was.

"You're Katherine?" he asked, his European accent thick and a bit breathy from the run. Katie opened her mouth, but no words actually came out.

"Don't do this." Ultron said looking down to Pietro who simply smirked before scooping Katie into his arms and sped off. Ultron took a step forward, and so did Vision.

Pietro appears in front of one of the lifeboats that had been dropped from helicarrier led by the recently back i n action nick Fury. They were filling up fast, and so he placed Katie onto her feet.

"You are to get on this boat." Pietro said about to speed off, when Katie caught his arm.

"What's happening?"

"This city is going be destroyed soon. Ultron created a machine that if turned off will drop the city and kill anyone still on it instantly." Katie's eyes lifted behind the man where she could still see the fighting in the distance. "I must go."

"Wait, my husband, Clint, where—"

"He's fine. He's still fighting, and he threatened me if I didn't deliver you to this ship. So please get inside." Katie simply nodded before turning and stepping onto the ship, instantly tangling into the crowd. She wasn't sure where she was supposed to go, but when she found an empty seat, she just fell into it. The space was cramped and she was surrounded by the cries of the displaced civilians. Suddenly the boat was moving and Katie lifted her head to see herself getting further and further away from the city. Her heart raced in her chest at the thought of Clint still being there in a fight that wasn't even over yet.

Suddenly there was a sharp pain that moved across her stomach that caused her to hunch over gripping her belly. It was different from the other contractions, this seeming even more painful if that is even possible. She opened her eyes, seeing that she was completely surrounded by people, but in this moment felt so alone. Katie had to close her eyes when the pain returned once again .

"Help." she said, but no one could even hear her. She opened her eyes and searched for someone, anyone. Her head turned to the right of the boat where she spotted who she could've sworn was Franklin. He was the last thing she saw before everything just went black.

It was done. A battle on a flying city against robots was over. Clint had stumbled onto one of the boats after helping more civilians on as well. He looked down to the dead body of Pietro Maximoff. The man who saved him and got his wife to safety. Clint gave the man a silent nod before sifting through the crowds for one of Fury's men. Once he spotted one, he quickly rushed over.

"Hey, I need to get up to that carrier." Clint spoke. Once he was given the go ahead, a transporter ship at the ready and before he knew it, he was on the carrier. Clint's entire body was screaming at him to just stop moving and to just rest, but his feet didn't stop moving as he quickly headed to the medical bay. The only time he actually stopped moving was when he stepped on the elevator and even then he was still nervously shaking. Once the doors opened, he rushed off coming to a sliding stop when he spotted Maria nervously pacing. When she noticed him, she stopped and it was then that he noticed the tears that stained her cheeks.

"Hill, where's my wife?" Clint asked his voice cracking with emotions he'd been fighting inside of himself since he heard that Katie was in labor. Hill dried her eyes with her sleeves before walking over to him. "Hill—"

"Look calm down. Franklin said a bunch of things that I didn't understand, but what I got was the her blood pressure was through the roof and it caused her to black out and he couldn't get her to wake up." Clint's hands clenched at his side his he turned his back to the woman as her words replayed over and over. "Look, he's going to do everything possible—"

"She was supposed to be out of this." Clint muttered turning back to the woman. "I did everything I knew possible to keep her out of this, and it wasn't enough."

"Clint this isn't your fault. Sometimes things just happen."

"No, all the time things just happen!" Clint snapped angrily sliding his hands through his hair trying to stop the fear and nervousness that seemed to be trying to tear through his skin. "I can't lose them. I can't go through that again Hill."

"Hey, it's not over yet, alright." Maria said as once again the elevators opened, and this time out walked Steve, Natasha and Tony who all had changed from the suits. They glanced over to Clint whose emotions were written all over his face.

"What's happening?" Tony asked first looking between Maria and and Clint for an answer. "Where is she, where's the baby?" Maria didn't say anything as she looked over to Clint who walked over to the window. "Someone talk now!"

"There are complications." Maria finally said and Tony turned to her with wide eyes. "Franklin is handling the situation, so everything is going to be fine." Maria's voice wasn't as convincing as she hoped and she could feel tears once again swelling in her eyes. "It's going to be fine."They all fell into silence, no one quite sure of what they should say. And so they waited.

They all just dispersed in the waiting room, everyone standing or sitting trying to come down from the adrenaline from the earlier battle.

"Hey." Steve said appearing behind Maria. "Is there any word of Matt and Katie's parents?"

"Oh, they're fine. They're a little beat up, but that's pretty much it. We're still not sure why he didn't just kill them."

"There's a lot about this whole situation I don't understand." Steve replied looking over to Clint who hadn't moved from his spot by the window. "Why was she in Sokovia?" he turned back to Maria. "What was so damn interesting about her that some psychotic robot would kidnap her?"

"We're looking into it." Maria replied just as the doors of the medical bay swung open and out walked a blue scrub clad Franklin who looked utterly exhausted. Everyone hurried over, Clint stepping in closer, trying to read the man's face before he speaks.

"Franklin—"

"The baby is fine. Perfectly healthy. Eight pounds, five ounces. I'm not seeing any signs that she's been affected by the preeclampsia."

"She? It's...It's a girl?" Clint exclaimed with a small gasp as smile coming to his lips. "I have a daughter?" A wave of pride struck the man in that moment, but then he realized what wasn't said. His eyes looked back to Franklin. "Kat, how is she?" Franklin let out a heavy sigh, and Clint nearly stumbled back, but a hand came to his back to keep him standing. He knew it was Natasha. It was always Natasha. "Is my wife dead doc?"

"No, her blood pressure was extremely high when she was brought in. She passed out, and we ended up having to do a cesarean to deliver the baby. We haven't—" Franklin shook his head seriously not wanting to be in this position at the moment. "We've done everything we can, but she won't wake up."

"What are you saying doctor?" Steve asked and Franklin looked over to the Captain. "Is she not going to wake up?"

"At this point I have no idea. It's really up to her." Franklin replied before looking back to Clint. "You should see your baby." Clint couldn't seem to move from that spot. He'd just found out that his wife's survival was uncertain, and he could feel the world around him crumbling.

"Barton." Natasha said moving to stand in front of the man, forcing his eyes to meet hers. "I know this sucks and you're sad and angry, but right now you need to go to that baby. You need to hold her and you need to let her feel the love you have for her." Clint simply nodded before following Franklin through the doors of the medical bay.

Once they were gone, Tony had suddenly pulled out his phone, and started dialing a number before bringing it to his ear.

"Who are you calling Stark?" Steve asked knowing that emotions were running high and the man in front of him could get very drastic.

"Who do you think? I'm not trusting some SHIELD doctor when there are doctors, good doctors who can help her. I'm going to get her off this piece of shit and I'm finding her some help." Tony said just as someone finally answered. He was about to speak, when Natasha grabbed the phone from his hand and ended the call. "You seriously don't want to upset me right now." He took a step forward to reach for his phone, which she kept out of his grasp.

"No, you seriously don't want to upset me right now. This day, this entire day has been one thing after the other and it's ending on a bullshit note, but what I will not have is you stepping out of your lane on this one."

"I'm her—"

"You're her friend. We all are, and we all are going to have to accept this situation. That is just the fact of the matter."

"I'm not going to accept this!" Tony snapped angrily once again reaching for his phone, but Natasha pulled it away once again. "You know I don't even know why I expected you to understand. I thought Bruce was actually starting to make your heart actually beat again, but I was wrong. Maybe that's why he left." Natasha took a step forward, but Steve quickly stepped between them.

"That's enough Stark." Steve said firmly. "I understand you're upset, but attacking us doesn't help anything. Right now we need to be here for Barton and his daughter in case this situation—"

"Just don't, please Cap." Tony said not even wanting to hear the next words out of the man's mouth. The man simply turned and walked off away.

Clint followed behind the doctor, still reeling with the news of Katie's condition. He kept his head down as he walked, not really in the moment. It wasn't until he stepped into a room and saw the small clear bassinet. There was a little person squirming around in there and he felt his feet pick up speed to get a closer look at her. A smile found it's way to Clint's lips as he looked down to the rounded face of the little green eyed girl dressed in a pink onesie with a matching cap that covered her head.

"You can pick her up." Franklin said from his spot near the door. Clint glanced over to him unsure if he was ready to do such a thing. Franklin sighed walking over and scooping the baby into his arms. "Alright just hold your arms out." Clint held up his arms and before he could even protest, Franklin had laid the baby in his arm. "That's it, support her head. You got it."

"I do got it." Clint said proudly looking down to the little girl who after a few seconds held his heart. "Hey there little one, I'm your daddy and I promise that I will never let anything happen to you." Clint leaned forward carefully placing a kiss on the baby's head.

"You know I think it's time for her feeding." Franklin said walking around and grabbing one of the bottles that was prepared for the baby. "Why don't you sit in that chair there." Clint glanced over to a rocking chair that was near the window and he walked over, moving a bit slowly with the child in his arms. Once he sat down, he still couldn't take his eyes off of the little girl. "Here." Clint looked up and grabbed the bottle, placing it near the baby's lips who seemed to welcome it instantly.

"You have your mama's appetite don't you?" Clint spoke without thinking, and that's when he remembered the truth. His eyes went back to Franklin, who also seemed to be thinking about Katie as well.

"I'm going to make a couple of calls, but trust me when I say that I am going to do everything in my power to get that woman to wake up."

"I want to see her." Clint said and Franklin nodded.

"Alright, she's still in recovery so give me some more time and I will come get you when you can see her." Clint just nodded before looking back down to the feeding baby. "I'm going to give you guys some privacy." he gave Clint a firm squeeze on his shoulder before turning and heading for the door. "Oh, hey, did you guys think of a name. I'm need one for the birth certificate." Clint shook his head looking over to the man.

"We were procrastinating." Clint chuckled looking down to the child whose eyes seemed to be staring back at him. "No name until she's awake Franklin." he looked over to the doctor who just nodded before leaving the room. "This is so weird." he found himself whispering, not wanting to scare the child. "I never even imagined this moment before I met your mother and now that it's actually happening, I still can't believe it." he let one of his index finger slide gently across the little girl's tiny fingers and he smiled when she wrapped her tiny hand around it, giving it a small little squeeze. "You're going to be a fighter like your mama, aren't you little one?" Clint's eyes looked down to the baby's tiny socked feet. "Your mama's a fighter too alright. She's not going to leave here without fighting because your mommy loves us and she wouldn't leave us like that." Clint glanced up feeling tears threatening to fall from his eyes as he glanced out the window. "This whole time she was afraid of me leaving her." he shook the thought away and smiled back down to the baby. "No ones leaving. We're going to go home and we're going to be a family. " he leaned forward once again, placing a kiss to the top of the girl's head.

In a dimlit hospital room, laid the unconscious body of Katherine Barton and at the foot of her bed stood the being who called himself Vision.

"Your friends and family are afraid that you won't be waking up." Vision spoke as he smiled down to the woman who looked as if she were peacefully sleeping. "They don't know that this part is actually necessary." he walked to the side of her bed, and let his fingers slide across her hand and the moment he touched her, his eyes closed and he could see the things happening in her head and the smile on his lips grew wider. "The world still needs you Katie, whether they know it or not." he lifted his fingers and the moment he did, Katie's eyes snapped open and she sat up quickly from the bed. Her eyes scanned over the hospital like room, to see she was completely alone. It wasn't until she looked down to her stomach and couldn't feel the movements of her baby did she start to panic. The beeping of machines seemed to mimic her panic and soon people were rushing in. It wasn't until she saw the familiar face of Franklin did she ask the million dollar question.

"Where the fuck is my baby!"

The next day just seemed a little bit brighter if you asked the remaining members of the Avengers that stood making funny faces at the small baby in front of them.

"Thank goodness she looks like her mother." Tony said with a slight chuckle.

"She has Barton's eyes though." Natasha said before lifting her head and looked back to see Clint and Katie once again in a very intense make out session. "We're still here, you know?" the couple pulled apart and turned to her. "We get it, you're in love with a cute baby. There's no need to flaunt it all the time."

"Are all Midgard children so tiny and weak looking?" Thor asked as he tickled the baby's belly as she slept.

"Hey, my baby is not weak." Katie said as Thor turned back to her. "She's perfect."

"She's also without a name." Tony added letting a finger slide across the girl's cheek. "I have a feeling I'm going to spend a lot of money on this baby bird and I would at least like to know her name." Everyone turned to the couple who looked to each other and smiled.

"This wasn't an easy decision." Katie said turning back to everyone. "And I want you all to know that we gave this a lot of thought." she nudged Clint's arm for him to bring the baby over to her, to which he scooped the baby into his arms and brought her to her mother. "But when I saw her, I just knew it was the right choice."

"Will you just spit it out!" Tony called impatiently ignoring the glares everyone was sending him.

"Fine, everyone we would like you to meet—" the door to the room swung open and in ran a very worn and out of breath Matthew who couldn't even speak when he came inside. He held up a finger for them to give him a minute before hunching over to grab his knees in an effort to breathe. "Mattie, how—" she looked to the others. "Aren't we still on the helicarrier?"

"I have resources Rinny." Matthew replies standing up straight.

"Wait, where are Martin and Cynthia?"

"They wanted to be here, but figured since they're supposed to be dead, that maybe it wouldn't be a good time. They said they would visit when you guys got back to the house." Matthew said smiling widely at the bundle in his sister's arms. "That's pink. It's a girl?" he looked to the others, with a wide smile. "It's a girl!" the man threw his fists in the air in victory. "I knew it was a girl. I knew it, and now you all have to pay up."

"Pay up?" Katie asked and many glares turned to Matthew in that moment.

"You know you say you want to be included in things Mattie, and we tell you there's one rule. Only one and you just had to mess it all up." Tony said with a shake of his head.

"You guys were betting on the sex of the baby, weren't you?" Katie asked looking around to the eyes that avoided hers. She glanced over to Clint who couldn't seem to look her in the eyes as well. "Bart! You too."

"It was just a friendly bet Kat." Clint said sending a death glare to Matthew for spilling the beans.

"No, you all were gambling over my baby." Katie said looking each one of them in the eyes. "And you all should be ashamed of yourselves."

"Oh, you're just mad you weren't included." Matthew replied walking over to sit beside his sister on the bed to get a closer look at the baby. "What's her name?"

"We were just about to find out until you came bursting in here with your big ass mouth." Tony said before turning back to Katie. "Name, please before someone kills him."

"Fine, everyone, we would like you all to meet—" there was a sudden knock at the door.

"What is there like a line of people outside who are suppose to interrupt before she actually says the name?" Tony asked in frustration. They all looked over to the door to see Franklin who frowned the moment he walked in.

"I thought I said no visitors yet." Franklin said looking over to Tony who he sure was the mastermind behind all of this. "I actually remember specifically telling you that Tony."

"I thought you said he approved visitors." Steve said looking over to Tony with a shake of his head. "You're such a liar."

"Is this news to anyone other than the captain?" Tony asked looking around to see no one holding up their hand. "Plus she's fine. Look at her, perfect health. She's going to be even better when she gets to the tower and helps me tighten some of the kinks with FRIDAY and—"

"Tony." Katie interrupted and he just sighed because he knew the truth. He knew they weren't coming back to New York with him. Its that moment when the dread, and sadness once again kicks in at the thought of losing his friend.

"I'm going to go." Tony says already heading for the door before another one of those conversations he doesn't like having starts.

"Don't you dare walk out that door Iron Ass!" Katie snapped and the man stopped, but he didn't turn to her. "Natalia Antoinette Barton." Tony finally turned to her. "And I convinced my husband that you would be the best choice for her godfather, now don't make me regret that."

"Godfather? Really?" Tony looked over to Clint who rolled his eyes. Tony walked over to Katie's side, glancing down to the child as a smile comes to his lips. "So if something happens to you two, I'm responsible for her upbringing."

"You know what, I think we need to discuss this some more Kat." Clint said looking down to his wife. "I mean he's the last person I want raising my child."

"Yeah, well we already agreed that it would only work if—" Katie looked over to Natasha. "If her namesake was to be her godmother." Natasha's eyes widen as she looks between Clint and Katie.

"You're not serious, are you?" Natasha asked her eyes going to the child. "I can't raise a child." she looks over to the grinning Tony. "Especially not with him."

"Don't worry Natasha." Steve says placing a hand on her shoulder. "You can do this and we will be there to help." he looked to the others with a smile. "We'll do this like we do everything else."

"If he says something as corny as 'together' can I throw something at him?" Katie asked and they couldn't help but laugh.


	44. Chapter 44

**EPILOGUE**

* * *

There is this part of the day on a farm that's just so beautiful that you wish you could capture it forever. Months had passed since the battle of Sokovia and since the day the newest member of their family arrived. Katie stood on the porch of their house looking out to the setting sun, and the scene took her breath away.

"There you are." Clint said appearing behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist as he kisses her neck.

"Talia still sleep?" Katie asked spinning around in his arms to face him.

"Yes, and it's a miracle. I thought that kid was born to cry and poop."

"Well she took after her daddy." Katie replied bringing her arms around his neck as he brings his lips to hers.

"Very funny dear." Clint's lips met hers in a sweet, passionate kiss. He's not sure how it happened, but after Talia's birth their kisses seemed different. Well if he's honest everything seems different now and he's not sure how to explain it. Clint Barton doesn't think he's loved anything as much as he's loved his girls.

"You know you can kiss me all you want, but you're still doing the dishes." Katie says pulling away in laughter as she heads back into the house. "It was the deal, I cook, you clean."

"You burnt the chicken!" Clint called following behind her laughing as well.

"Yeah, well your child was crying and since you were out fixing—" she turned back to him. "What was it this time?"

"The porch had some loose floor boards. It was dangerous, so I fixed it."

"And so the chicken was darker than it needed to be." Katie replied with a shrug walking into the kitchen. She headed for the table to grab her note book about to leave when Clint snagged it from her hand. "Hey give it back."

"You know I don't know why you don't want me to see your freaky little doodles." Clint says paging through the scribbled drawings. He found one that looked like a smiling tree. "I mean this, what is this?" he turned it to her and Katie looked at it for a moment.

"That is Groot." she said with a nod before reaching over and taking the notebook from his hand but he pulled away.

"And what is that underneath him?" Katie looked at the small rodent and laughed.

"That's Rocket. He has a very smart mouth, but he's equally adorable." she looked over to Clint who looked at her like she was crazy. "It was your idea to get these freaky dreams on paper."

"Yeah, but I didn't know that these characters in your head had their own little personalities." Clint said snatching the notebook once again and flipping through the pages. "I mean look at this guy." he turned it to face her and she looked into the dark eyes of the one who usually haunted her dreams. "Why is he purple. You dreaming of purple guys with weird gloves."

"That is Thanos, and that glove is the infinity gauntlet. He needs all the stones to put into that weird glove to wield immeasurable power." Katie said her eyes on the drawing for a moment before taking the notebook and flipping it closed. "Don't worry, I know this is all just the craziness locked in my head, nothing else." she moved to walk around him out of the kitchen, but Clint quickly grabbed her and tossed her over her shoulder causing her to squeal. "What are you doing?"

"I just realized that we have a sleeping infant for the first time in months. We shouldn't waste it." Clint gave a slap to her butt before heading up the stairs. Her laughter filled the house as he carried her to the bedroom.

"You're still doing the dishes!"

That night, like many other nights, Katie awaken from one of her man weird dreams to muse about in the nursery just staring down to her sleeping daughter. She could literally watch the girl for hours and not lose interest in the slightest bit.

"Your mommy wants to make you a promise." Katie whispered not wanting to wake the child. "My whole life was running, hiding, being afraid." she placed a hand on the girl's belly and smiled. "I promise that won't happen to you. You're going to have a life. Maybe not a normal one since your aunt and uncles are the Avengers, and I think I should apologize now for the crazy life that's ahead of you. But I promise we will face it together. We're no longer running scared baby. We're running fearless and anything that comes at us, we're taking it head on." Katie bent down to place a kiss on the child's head, lingering just a few inches above her just to inhale that precious baby scent. "I love you."

Katie quietly left the nursery, carefully closing the door behind her as she walked down the halls back toward the bedroom, but stopped because she really wasn't that sleepy. She decides to head down stairs, heading straight for the kitchen in search of ice cream she knows has her name on it. Television usually helps her get to sleep, so with her ice cream in hand, Katie plops down on the couch in the living room and flick on the television. She happens upon a late night news channel.

 _"Sure the Avengers have saved the world, but at what point do we have to admit that they're usually the reason we need saving." the broadcaster spoke. "Something needs to happen. There needs to be some kind of accountability and I think it should start with them."_ The phone suddenly rang and Katie nearly jumped from the couch. She quickly answered it before it woke the baby.

"Hello?"she answered quietly.

 _"How did I know you were awake?"_ Tony asked, sounding just as tired as she felt.

"You didn't, you were just really hoping that I was." Katie says lowering the volume of the television. "And I thought we discussed these late night calls."

_"And I thought we agreed that when I needed to talk to you, that I would call."_

"Fine, what do you need to talk about?" The line went silent for a moment and a smile pulled at Katie's lips. "Tony?"

_"Maybe I just wanted to hear your voice."_

"Where's your fiancé?"

"Sleeping. Where's your husband?"

"Sleeping." Katie replied glancing behind her to make sure she hadn't woke him up. She let out a sigh before lying her head back on the couch. "Fine, conversations with you usually put me to sleep, so maybe this could be a win-win."

 _"You see this stuff on the news?"_ Tony asked.

"Mmhm."

_"I'm actually kind of worried."_

In a small house in the middle of practically no where, Martin and Cynthia Chamber sleep peacefully. That is until a hard knock on their front door jolts them awake. Martin glances over to Cynthia, placing a finger to his lips for her to keep quiet as he carfully stands from their bed. He grabs the gun he keeps under his pillow before quietly easing out of the room. He moves slowly and quietly toward the door, his gun firmly in his hand.

"It's me Chambers!" a familiar voice called from the other side and Martin let out a sigh before walking over and pulling open the door to reveal Nick Fury and someone he really didn't expect to see. "I'm sure you remember Director Coulson."

"Not sure I can forget the thumb over our lives." Martin replies looking between the two men. "May I ask why you're at my house so damn late?"

"Well Mr. Chambers, some interesting information passed my desk and when I shared it with Fury he insisted we talk to you about it." Coulson said.

"What information?"

"About your daughter." Coulson replied looking behind the man where he saw Cynthia standing with wide eyes. "Mrs. Chambers, I think it's time for the truth."

"Cindy?" Martin says looking back to his wife who stood speechless. "What—" he turned back to Coulson and Fury. "What are you talking about?"

"She's special." Cynthia finally said and Martin turned back to her. "And it's my fault."

* * *

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: There’s a third story in this series. Let me know if anyone is interested in reading it!


End file.
